TIME TO CREATE
As the great Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy wrote, “Spring is a time of plans and projects.” Margaret Atwood Canadianized that sentiment: “In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” This year, provincial chief medical officers tell us that phase one of the COVID-19 pandemic is finally ending. Creative bursts may come with an unexpected sense of urgency. We’re expected to return to normal. Not the old normal. A new normal, in which feeling even a little under the weather means staying home. Sports will be played, but a little more hands off. Gatherings will be held, in moderation and with great care. Most significantly, daycare should be a go. Workplaces will reopen. We will leave home a little more often. That is a very good thing. Let’s hope the new normal won’t force us to surrender our newfound indulgence in quiet contemplation, interspersed with intense fits of creative output. At the very least, let’s make one more masterpiece. Knit your organic thneed. Colour your most gorgeous city or landscape. Honour the late, great John Prine and plant a little garden. Most importantly, don’t forget to take this #Timetoread. The Time to… Create collection of books will help you unleash your inner artist:
COLOURING BOOKS ARE FOR GROWNUPS
Colouring is a means of flexing your creative brain, by making colour decisions and interpreting a beautiful image, completing it your way, and being proactively playful. More importantly, it’s a defiant act of nonproductivity. It may be a while before you can do this again with so little guilt. Indulge your beauty muscles. Beloved author/illustrator Dawn Baker’s Colouring Newfoundland and Labrador is an exquisite collection of original penand-ink drawings featuring a wide variety of Newfoundland and Labrador’s people, places and cultures. It’s the perfect way to get creative while celebrating how lucky we are to call this place home.
PLANT A LITTLE GARDEN
Gardening is not only a way to create beauty and food, it also benefits your heart, reduces stress, builds self-esteem, and provides vitamin D, something we’re all a little starved for come spring. Mark Cullen, Canada’s preeminent horticultural expert, explores the why of gardening in his popular gardening book, Escape to Reality, but also offers practical advice on cultivation for all seasons. Author and research horticulturalist Todd Boland’s Favourite Perennials for Atlantic Canada is a must for any gardener— regardless of experience or skill levels— interested in the hundreds of perennials suitable to our region’s challenging weather and soil. If you prefer to let nature do the growing for you, check out Peter J. Scott’s field guide, Edible Plants of Atlantic Canada, for over fivedozen edible plant species found locally, and how to identify them safely.
STITCH AND KNIT
Two books f rom Newfoundland’s Christine Legrow and Shirley A. Scott provide some of the most popular tips for creating knitwear. As the authors themselves say, “knitted gifts are treasured in Newfoundland, whatever the season.” Saltwater Classics covers the body, toe tips to top of head. Legrow and Scott have collected and expertly recreated some of Newfoundland’s most beloved knitwear, sprinkling in heavy doses of creative flair. Here you’ll find stunning, unique patterns. And anyone north of the 42nd parallel is sure to appreciate the stylish and authentic mittens in in Saltwater Mittens. It’s the book that started it all for Legrow and Scott.