West Vancouver Sea Wall Walk

Capilano River, Lions Gate Bridge, West Vancouver
A Different Walk

It is not often that I go to Vancouver: there has to be a compelling reason. I love the slower, less urban environment of the Sunshine Coast, and forget sometimes that Vancouver is only a 40 minute ferry trip away. Yesterday I had to go for car maintenance and for a specialized dental appointment. 

Between dropping off the car and the dental appointment, I found myself with several hours to kill. This lead to a very happy discovery of the West Vancouver sea walk

The Walk, West Vancouver, From Park Royal to about 25th Street

Most people going to Vancouver for the day from the Sunshine Coast take advantage of all the shops and restaurants. I so enjoyed just walking for 2 1/2 hours, relaxing before the dentist. And I was so surprised by how lovely this area is! The river, the views of the bridges, the much clearer ocean than I would have expected, the piers to explore, the houses and apartments along certain sections: so interesting! There were also a number of seals, a popular crab fishing place, many birds. I recommend this walk.

Train Bridge

Lions Gate Bridge

The Seagulls Seem Much Tamer in the City

A Most Interesting Walk

Woodworking, Coast Chimes

Cut and Oiled Cedar Drying at
Coast Chimes

Pictured above, freshly oiled cedar drying in my workshop. Cedar is my wood of preference, as it is local, and also highly resistant to the elements, even without my superior oil finish. It is also absolutely beautiful!

Many of the cut pieces pictured will be used to make my large kaleidoscope wind chimes, as pictured below. A few will also turn into freestanding kaleidoscope suncatchers. I already cut and washed the float glass to dimension, so once the oil has dried for a few days, I will be ready to assemble. Then I just have to wait for the last of the snow to melt in my backyard, where I take my pictures, photograph them, and post them to Etsy and to my Coast Chimes Website.

Large Kaleidoscope Wind Chime

Bright Hand Painted Outdoor Art

Alcohol Ink: Bright & Beautiful!
At Coast Chimes

My Artist-made sea glass and my driftwood and beach stone wind chimes are missing one thing: bright colors!

I do have a fair number of people requesting red, or purple, so my response is this gorgeous new medium: Alcohol ink. I use it on glass and on tiles to produce awesome one-of-a-kind original art work wind chimes and suncatchers with bright reds, purples, gold, and more.

Making this artwork suitable for outdoor use is very labour intensive, involving many coats of various products to shield the artwork from the harmful, fading effects of UV sunlight. But after much research, and much work, I believe the issue is resolved. I am confident these will provide many, many years of enjoyment-- just like all my work.

Find all my bright hand painted works here: Coast Chimes Paintings

Small Chimes Can Be a Perfect Fit

Small Can Be Just Right
Visit the Small Chime Section of Coast Chime

Small yard, small deck, don't want to hear a louder, larger chime: there are numerous legitimate reasons for choosing small over large. Coast Chimes is well aware that some people want small, so an entire section of the website is dedicated to those.

The small chimes are three hand cut brass chimes, sanded, treated with a reactive to darken the metal, and hung on a handcrafted copper hanger with nylon coated stainless steel, sterling silver crimps. These are designed to be beautiful and also extremely durable.

Small chimes also start at a budget level to allow for the perfect little gift, especially when you remember that shipping is free to anywhere in the USA or Canada.

Check out the wide variety and choose one that's perfect for your space, or for a friend: Small Chime Section

Hibernating Food Garden, Backyard Urban Garden

Hibernating Backyard Food Garden
Urban Organic Crops

My green thumbed wife is the gardener. I, as the most frequent cook, enjoy what she sows and reaps. After five years it still absolutely amazes me just how much food a very small back yard produces. Above is what I think of as its hibernating phase (although there are still a few delicious things that can be dug up from beneath the snow, like purple broccoli.

She is happy, as this cold snap may kill lurking bugs.

Below is what this small garden will soon, hopefully, once again look like. Soon there will be plenty for all meals, the freezer, and lucky friends. Can't wait!

For those who still maintain a traditional grass lawn, I wish you would think of ripping it up and putting in a few raised beds, a few plots. It cost a little to get started, but you will see your food bills dive, and the bees will love you.

From Last Summer, Lots of Food!

Beach Ocean Pollution, EPS, Sunshine Coast, BC, Canada: Take Action!

Not Snow: Styrofoam (expanded polystyrene) Pollution
Ban EPS Now!

It's been a rough winter. Rough weather with multiple wind storms, and rough on the environment, with many docks breaking up. The picture above is not lovely snow on the beach; it is EPS waste from docks where it is used as flotation: nasty stuff!

Large blocks of EPS are used to float docks. Sooner or later, these blocks fall apart, or escape during storms. They then quickly break down into tiny pellets. These pellets are not biodegradable. They will be floating around for generations (some studies say up to one million years). Animals eat the tiny pieces, and have their digestive systems clogged.

There are more environmentally friendly alternatives, so there is no excuse. New docks must not use EPS, and current dock owners must change over. The federal government should have acted years ago, but better now than later. Please email or phone your MP and urge immediate action (it only takes a minute). You can find the contact information for your member here: Contact Your MP

Broken Down Dock EPS, Sunshine Coast, BC Beach

Large Pieces of EPS, Gibsons, BC, Canada

Winter Snows, Sunshine Coast, BC, Canada

Winter Arrives, Sunshine Coast, BC, Canada

After a spring-like December, Winter has arrived on the Sunshine Coast. The car is parked, and we take this opportunity for longer (and much colder!) walks. All the roads are either free, or at least much freer, of traffic, and it is quite lovely to walk through the nearly silent white landscape, flakes of snow covering our shoulders.

For me, too, it is a reminder of why the wind chime orders normally fall off a bit through the winter. It is easy here on the Sunshine Coast to forget what most people in North America are dealing with through these winter months. These current days are a reminder!

A customer who custom ordered two very long blue glass and copper rain chains just sent pictures of what they look like in a Nebraska winter: Wow! I actually never had this sort of weight of ice in mind when I designed them, and I am very happy to see that they were able to withstand this winter extreme. The picture is below.

Coast Chimes Rain Chain in Nebraska Ice

Winter Finally Arrives on the Sunshine Coast, BC, Canada

Cold Beach Combing!

What a change! It felt like spring through most of our 2018-1019 winter here on the Sunshine Coast, walking with a light coat while reading about extreme cold back east. Now while what just arrived could never be described as extreme cold, it is definitely winter!

The picture above was taken while the snow was still lightly falling. Now there are blue skies, and below freezing temperature: very beautiful. The cold will be hanging around apparently, and perhaps a bit more snow to fall. It's very enjoyable, but I am hoping that a thaw comes before too long, as I can not take pictures of my creations with snow on the ground, and new works are pilling up.

Aside from long treks in the snow, it's wonderful to be snug in my workshop making all sorts of wonderful new works. Pictures soon (I hope!).

Snow Time! Sunshine Coast, BC, Canada

Snow Time!

Actually, I was hoping for at least a little taste of winter here on the Sunshine Coast. It's February, and not a single snow flake! Until now. Temperatures have finally dropped below freezing, and snow has fallen. It looks like it is going to be hanging around for a bit, too.

The best is that I got all caught up on my picture taking for work just the day before. I can't take my work pictures below freezing with snow on the ground, as those don't look great a bit later in the year when people are shopping for their spring / summer yards.

The picture below is one of those I took just hours before the picture above. You can see what I mean!

Now I can work on the pictures, and on some new works in my cozy, warm studio. Oh! And also get out for a refreshing snow walk!

Taken Just Before the Snow
Freestanding Chime at Coast Chimes

Green Eco-Friendly Production at Coast Chimes, Buy Quality Not Junk

Green & 'Green'
Ecologically Friendly Design at
Coast Chimes

How could anyone not understand that we are beyond a time to start caring, and into a time where we need to make major changes to survive as a species? As a daily beach comber, I am all too sadly aware of a major increase in sea pollution, especially plastic and styrofoam. Sad is far too weak a word. And there is an increase in illegal dumping of the most nasty sorts of waste in local forest. Disgusting. Too many have a 'buy it cheap and throw away' mind set, and this is evil.

I look at houses around me a similar size, with the same number of residents, and week after week I see two, or even three, large garbage bins. Really? What in the world are they filling those with? Most often we put one very small bag into our single bin. I'm not at all proud of that-- still seems like too much --but putting out even one full bin, and definitely several full bins, now that is just plain unacceptable.

This all got me thinking about my own work, and evaluating my impact on the planet. I feel good, for several reasons.

All my glass is upcycled, it comes from used wine and liquor bottles. How cool is it to take something that would end up either in a landfill, or having to be trucked far away (and glass is heavy) and using lots of energy to remelt? Pretty cool to turn it into art instead.

I can even feel okay about the copper I use. While no doubt having the largest negative impact (no, I can not argue that mining is swell), copper is not like the vast majority of garden ornaments made from cheap metals, or metals that have been painted with finishes that soon deteriorate, so soon thrown away. My works are designed to be extremely durable. These are works of art to be treasured and enjoyed for many, many years. Not thrown away. And my copper at least does come from Canada where there are more rigorous environmental rules than perhaps some other sources.

Yes, there is a price to pay for non-factory made, non-throw-away, garden and home decor. Durable high-quality materials are expensive, but far, far cheaper from an environmental point of view. When choosing anything, thought should really be given to how your purchase is impacting the planet. Please don't buy so much, and especially so much short lived trash. A little less stuff and a lot more quality, that helps.

Find all my planet friendly designs Coast Chimes