<![CDATA[Sandpiper Studio Art - Sandpiper Studio Blog]]>Fri, 03 Jul 2026 02:14:24 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[Journey in the Arts]]>Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:19:44 GMThttps://www.sandpiperstudioart.com/sandpiper-studio-blog/journey-in-the-arts
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As an elementary school student back in the 1950s, Art classes were always a special time during the school week. There was an air of excitement that pervaded Thursday afternoon, the regular time for our art session.

Usually during our student lunch hour the teacher, along with one or two students selected to help to get materials ready, move desks around and lay out the media materials for the session. When we came back into the classroom it had magically been turned into a different space from the more rigid daily layout of rows for our regular lessons in math, language arts, social studies and so forth. Now, friendly groups of desks, and new and exciting materials (paints, brushes, bright construction paper, scissors, jars of paste) all spoke of the adventures which were about to begin.

Those afternoons are still vivid in my memory after all these years and were the source of my interest in making my own art. 

Another feature of elementary schools back in the 1950s was a weekly "Shop" session in the school's woodworking shop. We learned to cut (hack) wood, measure, glue, shape and fashion small pieces of wood into birdhouses, small storage boxes, and seasonal decorative items.
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The woodworking, basic as it was, received a boost from my Dad in our sparsely equipped home workshop. We built a rickety table for the front porch, repaired Muskoka (Adirondack) chairs, and made large decorative items for our yard at Christmas. Not many skills were honed, but the joy of making and seeing a project come to life continued to kindle the flame of making and creating. 

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All of these experiences fostered an interest in self-expression and a desire to make things as I grew older.

Gradually, I acquired some basic woodworking tools of my own and started building out a workshop that improved from crude origins to a present-day place that I find inspiring and fulfilling for the creative side of my being.
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The journey continues. 
]]><![CDATA[January 29th, 2024]]>Mon, 29 Jan 2024 11:53:45 GMThttps://www.sandpiperstudioart.com/sandpiper-studio-blog/january-29th-2024
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Creativity is fueled by imagination, insight, and experience.

After working away at  an easel, behind a camera lens, or in the wood shop, we sometimes find that a brief respite from the studio/atelier leads to renewed energy and fresh inspiration. Sometimes the respite and refueling come by taking a brief drive along Lake Erie's beautiful north shore (or Canada's South Coast as 2/4 it is frequently called).

Other times the new inspiration comes from a journey to our favourite spots in Ontario's magnificent Algonquin Park or even farther afield to Canada's Maritime Provinces. Of note, Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island are especially inspiring.

Expressing  those creative inspiration experiences is  satisfying as well.
]]><![CDATA[January 27th, 2024]]>Sat, 27 Jan 2024 18:08:35 GMThttps://www.sandpiperstudioart.com/sandpiper-studio-blog/january-27th-2024Adventures in Creativity

Sandpiper Studio has been a family venture of ours for many year.  We have always tried to express our creative selves with items that we created for our home and as gifts for friends.

Recently, as we have had more time available, we have increased our explorations and production to fill the interests and requests from friends.

Word spread about some of our creations and gradually a small but dedicated client base came to select our seasonal projects. Their requests naturally led us to take on customer commissions and explore new areas of woodworking and the arts.

Learning experiences turned into new skills and new ideas as we gradually grew and honed new proficiencies.

All of this, with much encouragement from many mentors and clients, has led us to put our creations before a wider public from a small home-studio and from this website.

We remain a small, home-based venture and do not wish to enter into mass production or vast arrays of product items.  Indeed, our offerings will be limited in number and scope and will vary with the seasons.

We hope that our art and artisan woodworking will interest you. Thanks for visiting our website. If you wish to arrange an on-site studio visit you can reach out to us for an appointment.

Chris and Bob White]]>