Shortly before Christmas, I was approached by my friend and fellow Bow Valley Artist, Sam Welsh, to work on a commission featuring her beloved art supplies. I decided, when she dropped everything off at the studio, that I would work on making a handful of still life photographs - I couldn't just do one! She brought me so many amazing things to work with. She said, "These tools are my lifeline, and so often they are just used up with little record of their existence, especially as an artist educator." She told me the stories behind some of the supplies, such as pastels that were used by her grandmother and passed down to her - how lovely.

I saved the process of making the first one in my Instagram story highlights, so it will be there in case you want to see behind the scenes.

The jar of pastels in the middle image (along with some of the other supplies) belonged to Sam's grandmother. While I was making the photos, I couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful it is that these pastels have been used by a grandmother's hand and her granddaughter's hand alike, to make beautiful work to share with the world. How wonderful is that? It gives me all the feelz.

Speaking of art connecting us to family members, working on the piece with all the spools of thread made me so happy, not only because of all the colour but also because I grew up sewing with my mom. I remember taking many a trip to the fabric store, and I still, to this day, get swoony over the spools of thread on display, all lined up in rainbow perfection. I have a hard time leaving any craft/sewing store without buying thread, even if I have no specific project that requires the purchase ☺️ Do you have a specific kind of craft supply that you just can't walk past without buying?