Hello from the Salish Sea Market team!

Today we greet the team behind the closed doors of the Salish Sea Market, and ask them, What’s happening around them and inside them …

Sharon ~ guide of ebb and flow

This is day 50 of having our doors closed to the public – having been a venue that has been open 7 days a week for pretty close to 10 years its almost claustrophobic. When Sarah posed the question of what’s happening around me and inside of me I really had to acknowledge that I’ve been roaming around in such a mixed bag of emotions – sometimes I think that it’s a good thing that there has been six feet between my ‘bubble’ and others to allow my personal constant processing to have the room needed to retreat, expand, somersault and yes, sometimes to release a few punches.

I think back to when the vision appeared to create the Salish Sea Market and it came primarily from a desire to continue the feeling of going to a summer festival – like Filberg – all year ‘round. Now, here we are poised to reopen our doors into an environment where local festivals, like the Filberg, will not exist this summer. With the heartbreaking news of some of our friends closing storefront galleries and the loss of revenue opportunities with festivals and studio tours for our art community, it is my hope that we will be resilient and rebound to continue what we set out to do in the first place – building an artful – distinctive – memorable venue to nourish our thriving art community on the shores on the Salish Sea.

We are looking forward to welcoming everyone back with kindness and gratitude for your patience and for your generous support of encouragement to stay the course. Heartfully, Sharon.

 Cathy ~ overseer of circadian happenings

At first, it felt like being sent to another planet on my own to start a new colony or something straight out of a sci-fi movie. It was quite surreal. My daily routine has not changed, but yet, everything seems so very different. Although I have continued to work full time behind closed doors, I still share so many others’ emotions about missing the in-person social connections. I miss my co-workers, I miss my family, I miss my friends. I’ve heard how many people have had an abundance of time, and that it goes so slowly for them. Not in my case! I seem to have less time. How does that work?? Like everyone, I am hopeful and really looking forward to life resuming to something a lot less strange and more predictable.

 Simone ~ alchemist of archivery

Lately, Simone is also known as the “invisible elf” … as she sneaks in to the market when no one else is there and makes sure all the numbers are behaving themselves. Sharon says she leaves a small trace of tasks accomplished.

When asked about this time, her response was that she has been so busy with wrapping up 2019 bookkeeping for her clients, she has been buried in work. Simone looks forward reemerging into the world after this work hibernation, see the sunshine, and do some creative projects!

 Vivian ~ convener of conversations

Even though Vivian is our convener of conversation, she was unable to share any words with us this time … as she is up to her chin in moving boxes. I coaxed this out of her … moving back into our house after a glorious stint of waterfront house-sitting/renovating. I am so grateful to have the time to do so. In-between packing and unpacking, I’ve had the opportunity (through social media)  to discover how our families are doing across the country and how their kids (and their kids!) have changed and what they have accomplished. That has been a true blessing.

 Rhonda ~ assistant to artful acquisitions

When my working-outside-the-home days ground to a halt 6 weeks ago, I was initially quite content to spend time, SO MUCH TIME, at home. The kitchen has always been my happy place and I set about enthusiastically creating yummy food for my family, which consisted of 2 or 3 people, depending on the week. However, I quickly realized that I couldn’t very easily share food with friends, due to social and physical distancing, and this has been surprisingly unsettling for me.

In an attempt to counter the oddness of our present world situation, I made a decision to try and keep up with what would be a “work” schedule to my days. I get up only a bit later than usual, most days, and go to bed at pretty much the same time each night. I function best on a good nights sleep and for the most part have been doing okay in that regard. Each morning, I pull three of Sarah’s Mandala meditation cards to help set the tone for the day. How can a day go wrong when the affirmation of Let Yourself Shine is beaming out from the deck?

Other than an occasional trip to the grocery store, my day revolves around preparing meals, some outdoor time, providing care to our grown son who has special needs, and working on an art project for my husband Mike’s niece in England.  I am also fortunate to connect with my daughter and son-in-law in Vancouver, as well as my sisters (all seven of them!) and friends on a regular basis, thanks to Zoom technology.

The Salish “Sea Stars” have been great at keeping in touch and letting one another know what they’ve been doing during these uncertain times. In many ways, I feel more connected to this amazing group of women than ever before.

 Sarah ~ conductor of comings and goings

It took me about a month to snap out of the daze of this new world … but when I did, the floodgates of creative energy returned and I am back into a rhythm with my work again. There are still days were the waves roar in and I have a sense of overwhelm with what is, but those are fewer now. I am taking on new challenges and fleshing out new ideas!

Right now I am so very grateful to live here, to have time and space and energy to create without boundaries. I am incredibly grateful to have this group of wonderful Salish Sea women as part of my tribe and feel so connected and supported, even at a distance. We have been keeping in touch with one another and sharing what we are doing, which feels so comforting.

I do look forward to being in their presence again, to see their smiling faces, hear their laughs and talk about all we the ideas we have for this next phase of the market!

 Laurie ~ magician of organizations

It's been pretty quiet around my house. My cat Denny is not a great conversationalists but he does keep me amused.

I have been doing lots of work around the house. This includes painting and wallpapering my powder room as well as getting my garden in shape. This year I decided to experiment and have lots of planter boxes with vegetables and herbs planted in them.

I've also been doing lots of stained glass work. I recently made each of the neighbours on my cul-de-sac a small heart to hang at the end of their driveway. Then I decided I would make hearts to support CatSpan charity. This charity helps feral and stray cats through spay and neuter programs.  We also have sites were we feed feral cats.  Their annual fundraiser was scheduled for March but was cancelled so I decided to help out.  I sold small stained glass hearts for $15 each, $7.50 from each heart went to CatSpan. So far I have sold almost a 150 hearts. The fundraiser has been a huge success and CatSpan is very happy.

And finally on the humorous side, I decided this was the perfect time to find out what colour my hair really is. So stay tuned.

from sarah j clark ~ conductor of comings and goings