All of our Artists’ Workshop members have different skills and abilities, and are more than willing to contribute them to the group. Every once in a while, though, someone shares a new talent that we didn’t even know they had.
Such was the case at our annual Holiday Potluck Lunch held this week and hosted by Jean Dudley. Food was delicious. Laughs and conversation flowed smoothly. It was good to be together and share the spirit of the season and remember how much we enjoy each other’s company.
One of the highlights of these annual gatherings is that members create greeting cards for each other and we exchange them after lunch. This year held a special treat. Kathleen Slavin showed her surprising talent in the realm of poetry and created individual limericks about each one of us.
The limericks were written on the back of a group photo she had enlarged and enhanced. Kathleen doctored our shirt fronts with images that reflected our individual artistic styles and added festive hairpieces as well. You’ll find the image that Kathleen reworked at the end of this message.
We’re also sharing her inspired limericks with you – along with a bit of the backstory to the poems for those of you who might not get the gist of all the references.
Patricia Katz (known for her travel sketches):
A travelling artist named Pat,
in cafés told pigeons to scat!
Her paintings were bella,
beneath the umbrella,
protected from rain and bird splat!
Paige Mortensen (has been experimenting with geometric watercolor batiks):
There was a young artist named Paige
Who exhibited skills with a gauge.
Her flair for geometry,
Combined with colorimetry,
Caused the critics to comment “how sage!”
Val Miles (who adds birds to all her paintings and published a kids book with animals):
Our Val is a painter of birds
Beguiling in bowers of herbs.
Faithfully she followed that muse
but her grandkids promoted the ewes!
And the birds were replaced by the herds!
Celeste Dumonceaux Delahey (known for her prairie landscapes and baked goodies)
A Saskatoon artist Celeste
could out-bake the cakes of the best!
Fine paintings of prairie
with blue skies and berry,
Compete with FONDANT OF THE WEST!
Sharron Schoenfeld (who works tirelessly on poster designs for our show)
Artiste of certain aplomb,
Sharron demonstrates exceptional calm
When dealing with luddites
who can’t get design right!
She may have considered a bomb.
Wendy McLeod (who takes a creative approach to features on her figures)
In Saskatoon Wendy McLeod,
Preferred to paint faces in shroud.
She found that most noses
made unpleasant poses!
And offended the art-buying crowd
Jean Dudley (who loves painting outdoors and teaching drawing classes)
Young Jean enjoys painting pleine aire.
Adoring the breeze in her hair.
Instructing art students
in line, tone and movements
While daintily perched on her chair.
Anne Simmie (who creates masterful images of vintage vehicles)
Anne holds an attachment for cars,
For graveyards of ancient jaguars!
Will her vast zeal
For the automobile
Be explained in future memoirs?
Leslie Stadnichuk (famed for her large, detailed florals)
Leslie paints large with panache,
For art-buyers armed with the cash.
“How big are those flowers!
It must take you hours!”
“Your paintings are really a smash!”
And we couldn’t let the day go by without a fitting tribute to our resident poet. So, over dessert, Pat penned and shared this tribute to Kathleen:
Our Christmas card hero was K
Her personal poems made our day
With pen she made art
That went straight to the heart
We’ll not soon forget this – no way!
We hope you enjoy sharing in our celebration and look forward to connecting with you again in 2024.
Artists' Workshop Saskatoon 