It has been a bit quiet on the blog but my mind has been on overdrive! I finally feel I have reached a point where I can move forward with my creative journey. The house is painted and comfy, we have furniture and even the guestroom is ready to welcome overnight company when it is ok to host again.
My last project was to paint the ugly old stairs leading into the basement. You guessed it, they were painted battleship grey by the previous owner and blended together in poor lighting making it a bit treacherous to navigate especially with a large box balanced in our arms. The treads were worn and tired looking. Short of carpeting them we were a bit at a loss. Carpet would not have been too wise as the steps are not overly wide and I have slipped down a carpeted staircase or two over the years which was not pleasant. So, 1/4″ masking tape and SHIVA oil sticks and some white stain for faux grout lines from the local hardware store to the rescue! I had fun wielding the stiff stencil brushes from my brush stash. I started out only treating every other step to ensure we could still get up and down the steps without tracking oil colour all over the rest of the house. It took three days to cure and for the linseed oil smell to dissipate. After painting in faux grout lines I sealed the steps with acrylic matte medium. At first I was not sure if it would work and actually seal the oil stick pigment or repel it. I was so happy when the acrylic matte medium dried flawlessly within 30 minutes and there were no issues of it peeling. It was time to finish the steps I had not treated before and today was the day: we have basement stairs we no longer have to hide from the world. 😉
And then the creative bug bit hard and I embarked on embellishing the risers. I had to take a break at this point…
…I’ll go back tomorrow and finish it off. It’s time to sleep on it.
But… here is what happened when I started to move from painting walls one colour and exchanged the paint roller for watercolour crayons: I began to reflect on the past 12 months and how times have changed. I always intended to embark on teaching online but with puppy-training-times-two and the general wait-and-see-attitude with the Covid situation I put the teaching off to the fall of 2020. Then, after three years of trying we finally sold our place in Saskatchewan and subsequently moved. Living out of boxes and suitcases for about three months had me feel pretty unsettled but life is returning to a routine. I am booking artist consultations via ZOOM once again, and with no real end in sight that social isolation is going to be over soon I had an idea while adding colour to the basement stairs:
Who is ready to gather virtually? I am starting a Virtual Creative Cluster every Tuesday. Beginning March 2nd, 2021at 3 pm EST we will meet for 90 – 120 minutes. There will be creative inspiration, question and answer sessions where we cover embroidery and quilting techniques, design queries and mutual support with like-minded individuals. I will prepare something different every week based on the group’s interest. Anyone is welcome to join, beginner stitchers and quilters are all welcome. I will cap the group at 12. Should I get more registrations I will offer a second group on a different day. Interested?
Please fill in the registration form below with your information and forward it to me. Once I receive your registration I will issue an official invoice which is payable via e-transfer.
The cost is $ 25/month. You can register on a monthly basis. Payment is due before the first session of the month. Please note: There will be no refunds or credits if you have to miss a session.
Excited? There is so much to explore! Together we can learn and grow – best of all: you don’t have to travel! Let’s see where the Virtual Creative Cluster takes us. Feel free to share with friends!
Looking forward to hearing from you! Anna
Anna Hergert, Art & Design 
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Your stairs are fantastic! I love the surprise you get on going back up – so unexpected!!
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Thanks, Kristi. I painted the stairs in our last house in Calgary as well. But these are a lot more fun! 😉
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Love the stairs. It reminded me of the Hidden Garden Mosaic stairs I saw in San Francisco. Would be interested in joining the Creative Cluster, but with the time difference and daylight saving starting in a couple of weeks, there will be a conflict with my Lions meetings which also happen at the same time. If you decide to have a 2nd group on a different day, I would be interested.
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I explored a couple of ideas, painted mosaic was one of them but decided that it would take too much time away from studio work. So, this was a somewhat quicker process and the colours made me happy!
Sorry, the time for the Creative Cluster does not work with your schedule. I did set the time up to make it accessible for people across Canada but obviously, it’s impossible to make it work for everyone. Right now we are two hours apart, once daylight savings time takes effect it will be three hours. The spaces are filling up nicely. There might even be a second group. Shoot me an email with preferred days and times and I will put your name on a list.
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I love the stairs. It reminded me of the Hidden Garden Mosaic stairs I saw in San Francisco. I love the idea of your creative cluster and would like to join, but with the time difference and daylight saving time coming in a couple of weeks, I’m pretty sure there will be a conflict with my Lions meetings which also happen on Tuesday evenings. If your group fills up and you decide to have something on a different evening, I would be interested.
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I agree with Helene, love the stairs! They are amazing! I would love to join the creative cluster, however the timing won’t work with my current schedule. Would love to join something at an alternate time if your enrollment overflows into a additional session offered. Miss seeing everyone, and will hook up with you soon for another consultation soon. Hugs!
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Thanks for the input, Patricia. Why don’t you send me an email with suggestions for days and times? I will add your name to the list for alternate sessions. I realize this was a stab in the dark and I tried to make it work for those who are not working at this time and might be in need for a social outlet.
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Thanks Anna. I am lucky that I am still working, so I have somewhat of a social life (if you can call work a social life! ha!). I’ll send you an email of some suggestions – and thank you for asking. I am glad that so many are excited and will join your first offering! Its a hit, and definitely appreciated! Thanks for continuing to share as well photos of your surroundings – loving them. Appreciate the inspiration. 🙂
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I LOVE your stairs! You’ve inspired me yet again! I’ll be attacking our basement this summer and hadn’t even thought of the risers. Boy – I can’t wait to visit your new abode – in due time of course.
I Love your idea for the creative cluster. I am quite booked up lately but need to be able to pull away. So I am going to sign up. I am just wondering – is it EST or AST?
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Thanks Helene! The time slot is definitely EST… which means an hour ahead for us in Atlantic Canada.
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