Wallpaper and our first elk sighting

The mountains looked beautiful as the sun was rising on my way to the studio this morning.

Julia removing the

Frog Tape®

It takes us an entire day to complete one of these, that's both of us working together. It's roughly 4'x9'. First we plot it out. We made templates for this to increase our efficiency. Then we trace octagons onto the paper. Usually one of us plots while the other follows close behind tracing octagons. Then we mask it off with Frog Tape® for Delicate Surfaces. Frog Tape® is a brilliant product. Not only does it prevent the paint from bleeding and ruining the design, but it's translucent enough that we can see the pencil lines through the tape. This is important because we need to trim the tape to match the design. This masking is time consuming, but it allows us to paint the octagons quickly and cleanly. Then we can remove the masking from the paper with (almost) no tearing. Thanks makers of Frog Tape®! So far we have three sheets of octagons completed, and we are closing in on a fourth. These will be the backdrop of our installation.We are still trouble-shooting our hanging system, but looking forward to seeing them on the wall.

Our studio in the afternoon sunshine. Moved in another table today so we can work on covering quail with paper tomorrow.

Elk chillin' at the Banff Centre

On our way to dinner today Sasha, another artist in residence told us there were elk behind the building. The female is barely visible behind the grass at the foot of the trees. They were still there about an hour later, walking around as people watched and took photos. The male looks like he's starting to shed his winter coat. If you are wondering why every photo we take has a mountain in it it's because we are surrounded by mountains on all sides. It's an amazingly beautiful place.