photo shoot antics

My friend Danielle is a budding photographer so for Christmas last year, she gave me a free photo shoot. It could be anything I wanted so I decided to capture the magic house. She was excited as she had never done an interior/architecture shoot before. We had a great time staging and trying different lighting techniques.

Here are shots of her in action:

All the photos below are compliments of Danielle.

 

 

The women

This post has nothing really to do with the magic house so please indulge me.

For the past couple of years, I have been thinking a lot about the women who came before me...the feminine heritage. So often family history is patriarchal and almost dismisses the women who played such an important role.

Whenever I am in Toronto, I have this uncanny feeling of walking with the women of my family. Not sure how to really describe it but I almost feel their presence. I often ask my Grandma for stories about her mother and grandmother but it is getting hard to gather them. I wish I thought to ask about the stories years ago. However, I was lucky enough to borrow a photo album with pictures of these women. I want to name them so the world knows they had value and contributed so much to those in their lives. In fact, who they were/are has influenced much of who I am today.

Mertie Chase - My great great grandmother

I love her name...it is so strong. I don't know much about her but what I do know about her is that she was kind and would care for my grandma and siblings when they were young. My grandma's family was not well off financially but Mertie would bring fruit and candy as a treat. She was beloved by my grandma. Mertie was born in the USA and I am not sure how she ended up settling in the Toronto area but I am assuming she had an adventurous spirit to move away from her family.


Ethel Chase Scadding - My great grandmother

I was once told by my grandma's former boyfriend that I reminded him of my great-grandmother. I took that as a compliment (I think I was about 10 at the time). Since then, I have learned about her compassionate heart. She took in numerous foster children throughout the years. She was also ingenious and often had to figure out how make do with very little. Her husband was ill for many years so she really held the family together. She loved to read as well.


Ethel Scadding Light - My grandmother

My dear grandmother...what can I say? I feel an affinity with her. She was a career girl and didn't get married until her 30's. Then she moved from Toronto to the middle of the Saskatchewan prairies. She had a tough time in her marriage but she faced her life with grace, humour and a love for reading and poetry. She held onto her faith during the hard times and raised four amazing children. After her husband died, she embraced life and continued to travel.


Marilyn Light Bateman - My mother

My dear mom means the world to me. She taught me that the definition of family is far bigger than those you are related to by blood. She led by example of loving people no matter what...even those that are not also easy to love. She always had extra food and chairs for Sunday dinner and that guests should be treated with the nice towels and a clean space to rest their head. Since retiring, she has traveled to Haiti and Guatemala to serve those who need her healing touch. She lives with great love and grace.

 These women opened their homes and hearts and hands to those they encountered in life. Perhaps the connection to my magic house is that I use it to provide a place of love for those I encounter. It is humbling to come from this lineage and my hope is that I live with the strength, grace and love they demonstrated in their lives.

The chair

My skill at procrastination is undeniable. More than two years ago, I bought a chair from a great antique shop in Nanton. However, the chair required some TLC. The chair sat with a blanket over it for quite a while. In September, I moved it downstairs to the studio to start the re-upholster project. But as you know, it is now November and I finally started the project.

Here is the step-by-step disassembling of the chair.

The Chair...faded and stained fabric...it must go

the first panel is removed

you can totally see the fading of the color.
The original was a deep emerald green

The first indication that the chair was stuffed with straw. Yes, I said straw!

The straw!

The nearly completed disassembly

My next steps for the reuphostering (which I hope to complete in the next decade) will be re-finishing the wood and make the frame a bit more stable. Then I will attempt to reupholster the chair. I have never done this before. It could get interesting.

I picked up a couple metres of dark brown material from IKEA recently. I hope it will work with the chair. I kept the fabric I pulled off the chair to use as a pattern. Let's cross our fingers and see if I can make some furniture magic happen. Stay tuned!