Hemlock Micro Studio

In a little memory of summer, here are some observations by @graymetal of bees (and some not-bees) from her time at Hemlock this summer.

New Life for Old Shoes Sol Skelton Saturday, August 30, 10am-2pm Sunday, August 31, 19am-noon allthingy, at Mount Erskine Juniper trailhead Salt Spring Island Reimagining cobbling as creative play, Sol Skelton offers the Salt Spring community an opportunity to have footwear transformed at the allthingy roadside platform. Drop off shoes that you no longer wear and would otherwise be discarded at allthingy, located next to the Mount Erskine Juniper trailhead, on Saturday and Sunday, August 30-31. Return from your hike to find altered shoes, imaginative shoe-like objects, and other products of the process.  Sol will borrow his recent experience as a cobbling apprentice, in combination with his creative practice as an artist, to make these transformations. He is a recent graduate of the University of British Columbia, in Cognitive Systems and Visual Arts. allthingy is a multi-purpose roadside production and presentation platform operated by artists Germaine Koh and Ian Verchere, and their supportive neighbours. https://allthingy.ca Instagram @all_thingy

Ian and I are pretty good at making shou sugi ban! We learned a while back while we were building the @hemlock_micro_studio . Now we are making a tool shed using all reclaimed and surplus materials. Yes, we have built a lot of black structures. #shousugiban #yakisugi

Posted @withregram • @monica.tap For ten glorious days, this tiny abode - aka Lululiving - was home, thanks to @hemlock_micro_studio and the generosity of @germkoh and Ian Verchere. This tiny home on wheels was remarkably capacious and the setting could not have been more spectacular. 🎨As part of my stay, I co-hosted, together with @melpaints , what turned out to be an inside-out plein air workshop: the rain didn’t deter us, and the windows provided natural framing for finding compositions. ,🌧 Not everyone painted the landscape, however... scroll through to the last image to see Ian’s brilliant oil sketch of Germaine.😁 I am so grateful for this opportunity to soak in the beauty of Salt Spring Island and especially for all the wonderful people I met while there. Thank you, Germaine and Ian!🥰🥰

Posted @withregram • @meaghanhackinen I’ve spent the last two weeks enjoying some quiet writing time at @hemlock_micro_studio on Salt Spring Island. Brainstorming, writing, wandering, reading, percolating, poking around, coffee drinking and conversing. 🌲 As part of my residency I also had the opportunity to facilitate an adventure writing workshop - something that had been on my mind for some time - and talk a bit about my process and books to some local riders and writers. 🌲 Much gratitude to Germaine and Ian for having me on island for this extended stay. I didn’t know how much I needed this opportunity to unwind until I arrived. I free ready to plunge back into my fall projects (and training). Plus I have a path forward for my work in progress, and that’s a good thing. 🌲 @all_thingy #AmWriting #SaltSpringIsland #ProgressNotPerfection #CreativeSpace

With the rains today, Blackhall, the barn, came into its own as a group production space, with a plein-air-à-l’intérieur session with @monica.tap and @melpaints and @all_thingy regulars and neighbours and tea and cookies and convivial chat.

“Plein air” session is still on today 11-2 with @monica.tap and @melpaints but you can stay dry inside! Park at the road and come down the drive to the black barn.

Join us at the allthingy roadside platform on Saturday 16 Nov for a plein air session with Toronto-based painter Monica Tap and local friends including @melpaints . UPDATE: MOVED INDOORS, SAME TIME, BOTTOM OF THE DRIVEWAY IN BARN. @monica.tap has recently been considering the act of painting as a form of activism and community resistance in the fight to save Ontario Place, a public park, from becoming destroyed for a private spa. Date/time: Saturday 16 November, 11-2 Location: Starting at @all_thingy roadside platform, 270 Trustees Trail, Saltspring Island, by the Mt. Erskine Juniper trailhead Cost: Free. Bring your own materials or use provided drawing/painting materials

Enjoyable writing workshop and talk today with @meaghanhackinen about her ultra long distance cycling races moved into the nearby Lululiving studio. Meaghan is here working towards something new!

We’re still on for today’s adventure-writing workshop and author talk with @meaghanhackinen , we’re just moving indoors just beyond @all_thingy

Saturday at @all_thingy and @hemlock_micro_studio Ultra-endurance cyclist and author Meaghan Hackinen These events will move indoors if there is a chance of rain 11:00 adventure writing workshop 12:30 author talk and book signing. Copies of Shifting Gears will be available 270 Trustees Trail, at Mt Erskine Juniper trailhead

November activities at @hemlock_micro_studio and @all_thingy Saturday 9 Nov Ultra endurance cyclist and author Meaghan Hackinen joins us for a two-part presentation: 11:00 adventure-writing workshop 12:30 author talk and book signing @meaghanhackinen holds several Fastest Known Times and has won multiple ultra-long-distance bikepacking races such as the 2024 Tour Divide and most recently the @arhighcountryrace . Her most recent book, Shifting Gears, shares her experiences from the road and the cultural aspects of this extreme sport. Saturday 16 Nov, 11:00-2:00 Painter Monica Tap will guide a hands-on plein air session while sharing about painting as a form of activism and community resistance in the fight to save the public Ontario Place park from becoming a private spa. @ontarioplace4all @monica.tap Meet at the @all_thingy roadside platform (moving indoors in case of rain) by 270 Trustees Trail, at Mt Erskine Juniper trailhead, Saltspring Island / CUÁN. These activities are free.