JANE KOOPMAN ART AND JEWELRY

Messy Rest

ideas and observations about everyday wonders
from a girl who has never been able to keep her room clean
Blog Home
  • Home
  • About
  • Gallery
    • Maps
    • Domestic Materials
    • Art Cards
    • Jewelry >
      • Necklaces
      • Earrings
      • Bracelets
  • Sales
  • Start a Jane Jar
  • Contact
  • Blog

8/16/2013

Five Tips for Making Summer Gardening More Manageable

0 Comments

Read Now
 
Around mid-July, I start to run out of steam when it comes to my garden. The gardening appetite and inspiration that comes on me like a tidal wave in early March is a distant memory. Now the days are hotter and dryer, leaving some of my plants looking tired and most definitely making me tired and lazy. And still, the weeds keep growing.

I have found a few ways to sustain myself (and my garden!) through these lazy, hazy days of summer.
Coreopsis
photo, Jane Koopman
  1. Set a little time aside each day (or every few days). If I commit to working outside for half an hour a few days a week, my mind and body feel less daunted by the work I see. I know I'm getting things done, and I don't need to schedule an entire morning or afternoon to catch up on maintenance.
  2. Do a little at a time. In a similar vein to the previous tip, I usually choose a small section of the garden to focus on each time I'm outside. This is especially helpful for weeding! I have a really large section of full-sun garden at the side of my house. The plants there are happy, but so are the weeds, and it takes all the willpower I can muster to tackle the job. I pick away at it in small sections. This way, I can see my progress and have a sense of accomplishment without wearing myself to frustration. This is also a good approach to watering plants (especially if you water by hand).
  3. Be cool. Maybe this goes without saying, but it's easier to work outside during a cooler time of the day, like morning or evening. After breakfast or after supper.
  4. Do what you like. I enjoy some gardening chores more than others. I love tending to the plants: harvesting, pruning, deadheading and general fussing. Weeding and watering are not my favourite things to do. Amid the drudgery of the chores I don't like, I always make sure I do a few tasks I enjoy because they're fun and they make the other chores more bearable.
  5. Indulge your senses. Gardens are for joy: the joy we take in working them and the joy we take in seeing, smelling and touching the life they bear. When you work outside, take time to stand back and feast your eyes on the beauty, bury your nose in a rose and run your fingers across the textures of leaves.
And one bonus tip: mid-summer is a great time to think ahead to fall plans for the garden. Take some moments to jot down some things you'd like to do when the weather cools and the weeds calm down.

Share

0 Comments

8/1/2013

Lessons Learned at the ROM

0 Comments

Read Now
 
Recently, my husband and I visited the Royal Ontario Museum, commonly known as the ROM, in Toronto, Ontario. The ROM is an amazing place, full of natural specimens and cultural artifacts. You'd need a few weeks to fully explore the entire collection.

Because we only had a day, my husband and I decided to focus our attention on the museum's third floor, which features artifacts from many world cultures from prehistory to the 20th Century. As we strolled through the African baskets, eastern Buddhas, Egyptian cat mummies, Grecian pottery and Rococo furniture, I felt inspired and affirmed as an artist. Maybe that's obvious: a trite reaction. But there were two things in particular that I realized in a refreshing and uplifting way.
Greek Pottery from the ROMGreek pottery from the ROM's collection (photo from the ROM).
The first thing that struck me like a two-by-four was the fact that art, adornment and beauty have been a necessary part of culture from the beginning of time. As an artist/artisan, I sometimes wonder, "What's the point? Nobody really needs the stuff I create." These misgivings were clearly challenged by what I saw at the ROM. Through many ages of history, artists and craftspeople were highly esteemed in all cultures, and their work touched every aspect of life: birth, work, celebration and death. Artistic items like beads and jewelry were sometimes used as currency. Jewelry and decorative, artistic detail in clothing have been part of every world culture as soon as people could work metal and weave fabric. In other words, art has always been integral to life. In fact, without art, the ROM would have very few cultural artifacts, and we would know very little about the people who came before us.

The second affirmation I experienced during my visit to the ROM was that upcycling and repurposing are age old practices. People have always used the everyday objects around them to create art, clothing and jewelry. I saw jewelry made from the garbage and trifles of ages past: bone, seed pods, animal teeth, stones, scraps of leather and wood, tiny pieces of shell. Feathers, fur and hair were incorporated into art, masks and even weapons. I think it's only since industrialization that people have had the "luxury" to waste. We can learn a lot from the multitudes who lived before industrialization about finding practical and beautiful uses for scraps and shards. I've always thought of my efforts in upcycling as being mindful of the present and future, but now I see they're also deeply connected to the past.

ROM South Asian Gallery
The ROM's beautiful South Asian Gallery, with a stunning tapestry in the background (photo from the ROM).

Share

0 Comments
Details

    Jane Hogeterp Koopman

    Picture

    Subscribe to  Jane's Blog by RSS or email:

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Categories

    All
    Gardening
    Happy At Home
    Inspiration
    Making Art
    Making Food
    Remaking/Upcycling
    Ten Thousand Villages Artisans

    Archives

    January 2018
    December 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    January 2016
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Stuff I love:

    • All Sorts Gallery
    • Burlington Centre for the Arts   
    • Love2Upcycle blog
    • Mixed Media Art Store
    • The Mustard Seed Co-op
    • Ottawa Street Farmers Market
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
  • Gallery
    • Maps
    • Domestic Materials
    • Art Cards
    • Jewelry >
      • Necklaces
      • Earrings
      • Bracelets
  • Sales
  • Start a Jane Jar
  • Contact
  • Blog