Our first stop on the winding Salt Spring Island roads was at the Thistle Rock Forge. Alison Sparshu is a farrier by trade as well as a blacksmith, window dresser and artist. She welcomed us onto this normally busy farm, where much more goes on than artistic ventures. The forge was quiet for this special day, tidied up in expectation of many visitors. Alison lead us back to her She Shed, where we discovered a work in progress filled with a jumble of materials for art pieces, keeping her art supplies separate from the forge work space she shares with her husband. Two art pieces on display were a life sized sheep used for a Christmas display and a bouquet of poppies for a Remembrance Day. To explain sheep at Christmas - there were two of them that pulled Santa’s sleigh as there are no reindeer on Salt Spring Island. Outside in the farm yard, a black potbellied pig wandered up and sniffed my leg, much as a dog would, and allowed us to pet him. The shaggy family dog roamed the yard. It was a warm and friendly visit, a lovely welcome to this first She Shed, fundraiser for Salt Spring Women Opposed to Violence and Abuse.
“Be an artist, in whatever little faculty possible.
For the Earth, without ‘Art’ is just ‘Eh’”
~ Jasleen Kaur Gumber
See more of the artistry and work of these hard workers on their
Thistle Rock Forge Facebook page and at
Thistle Rock Forge and Design
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