Penny Pitcher… Springtime Swirls

The last time I had to write about myself I was 15 years old, a student in Montreal. At that time I bemoaned the fact that people didn’t usually write autobiographies in their youth because nothing of interest had happened yet – that was all for the future. 

Well, even with a chunk of that future now behind me, I still have a problem knowing what to write.

Born and raised in Montreal on Howdy Doody and Father Knows Best, I graduated from Bishop’s University in 1967 with an Honors BA in English. Thus, sadly lacking in marketable skills, I headed for England, where I lived for 7 years, got married, had two children, and renovated a 17 Century house.

Then it was back to Canada and Dawson Creek, BC, where I grew my hair, wore long dresses, and went back to the land.

Couldn’t quite make it living off the land, so variously worked as a Radio Continuity Writer, a Librarian’s Assistant, and a Newspaper Reporter-Photographer. Although I had owned a film camera from the age of 12, now I could run around shooting pictures with reckless abandon. What a treat! When I left the paper, my gift to myself was a camera that included some of the bells and whistles.

Then, older and wiser, I went back to University for a teaching degree and headed off to Burns Lake to teach High School English and French. From there it was back to Vancouver Island for a few years to work as a Teacher on Call.

Next stop, Vancouver, where I met my husband, Bill, a professional photographer. We then spent several years in Williams Lake before making the move to Golden in 2000 so that I could teach French at the primary level. 

The beauty of my surroundings (coupled with standing around with Bill as he “waited for the light”) prompted me to dust off my camera. I am particularly interested in Macro Photography - leaves, flowers, berries - the minutiae of nature. I have been overwhelmed by these perfect little worlds.

My macro photos of springtime wildflowers were colourful and competent, but they didn’t reflect the spirit and energy of the real thing. So I spent some time with my flowers, teasing and tweaking, cajoling and nurturing, playing with them outside the constraints of photography. Now I could make my flowers pirouette and twirl, swing and sway, dancing their vibrant dance. 

Thus were born Springtime Swirls. However, Spring fades and gives way to Summer and then, Fall. So it was that the vibrant colours of the leaves and berries beckoned me outdoors once again. I liked to think that my Rosehips and Snowberries were having one last fling before Winter engulfed them in her mantle of white – not something we experience here in Victoria. I called this series Fall Frolics. And, did you know that each month has a specific flower? This series I called Birth Flowers.

Four years ago, we moved to Victoria. If I thought I had lived in flower heaven before, chasing the wildflowers up alpine slopes as the snow melted, here, in Victoria, I am in absolute awe. It would seem that there is no month when something isn’t blooming somewhere. Of course, learning the names of wildflowers was a snap compared to the variations on a theme with regard to cultivated flowers. However, I am out there every morning with my camera, poking into nooks and crannies in search of my next “subject” before madly consulting Google and my gardening books to learn their names.

I have created over 40 unique Swirls which started out as flower art canvases in different sizes. So many people expressed an interest but wanted something smaller. Well, you can’t get much smaller than one-inch-square pendants. I also have matted mounted prints.

Please visit my website: and check out Springtime Swirls on Facebook – and be sure to get outside to smell the Roses and the Dianthis and the Nicotiana and the Clematis and the Lily and….