I am not an expert! This is my choice for a surgical mask pattern and is the mask preferred by my husband. I am waiting for my son to tell me whether it works with a beard! My thoughts on types of materials that may be used can be found in previous postings. I do not recommend the use of hepa materials associated with vacuum cleaners and furnaces. It seems that the companies that produce these filters are now giving an emphatic NO to inquiries...

It appears that my research on fabric masks was not a waste of time! Masks have become a top news story yesterday and today. So here is a little commentary based on my research to date. Wearing a cloth mask does not give YOU a high level of protection from COVID-19 but, if everyone wore a mask, THEIR masks would. The following is a ‘brain dump’ of information gathered over a two week period and was intended for personal use. I share...

I don’t want to take supplies away from our medical personnel but I need access to breathing protection. So I did a lot of research. I am making fabric masks that will not be perfect for virus protection, but will up my level of protection when I have to venture out to get supplies, and will work for me during seasons when pollen, dust and smoke are prevalent. First of all I am sheltering at home and have since early March. We wash our...

Last winter and spring I was laid low with a series of viruses followed by a bout with pneumonia. Let me just say that my art required too much energy and wasn’t on the agenda!  Being a person who can’t sit still without doing ‘something’ I decided that although the only way to control the cough was to sit still, I could tackle the second of my life goal and could sit at the computer to update the family genealogy and...

Bear with me. There is a bit of 2017 introspection here… Looking Back to 2016 As 2016 wound down I found myself restless, rudderless in my art. For some time I’ve been wanting to branch out, expand into new ventures, try new techniques and perhaps define a new style of work. I have stuck a toe in the water here and there but nothing has super-charged my engines! It is one of the first years in some time that I have not picked my...

I’m trying to pull all the bits together as we coast towards the end of 2016. We are in the middle of a deep freeze here in Calgary and I am being a wimp! If I don’t have to go out, I don’t! The ground is white, the weather forecasts are full of warnings and the accident count is high. One of the joys of being in ‘retirement’ mode is not ‘having to do’ a lot of things! Go Away Flu! I still have the...

During a summer of ‘arting’ while hubby was away, I turned the main rooms of the condo into my studio.When he returned we left for a month of travel with a couple of major show deadlines hanging over my head. Need I describe my past month? On my return I needed to prepare for my first-time-ever participation in an artisan show. The Contextural show in mid-November required me to create items that would mainly be in the range of...

After major computer problems (two 8G sticks of RAM memory replaced), two bouts with human viruses, a month of travel and a tight art show deadline I am going to once again get back to my blog! In the near future I hope to have some website updates and to separate my art and my genealogy postings but for now they will both appear in my Diane Duncan Art Blog.  That said we are into the Christmas anticipation mode with a six year old visiting...

  I disappeared for a few days… to my sewing machine!  Every September, after a summer of this’s and that’s, I have a mind that dances all over and has trouble settling on art priorities and letting me get down to business. I’ve discovered a bit of a pattern developing. I turn to my Someday pile.     In 2013 I spent the summer making quilts – I think it was seven quilts to be exact that I completed...

A SOS call from my son led to a fast trip to Scottsdale last week. Surgery was scheduled and the medical team would not proceed until  he organized post surgery assistance. Mom to the rescue! Between 40+ degree temperatures that didn’t moderate much at night and my son’s recovery it was a quiet week. I managed a couple of evening walks in this park and a few shots of flora and skies that I would like to share.      ...