just wet

at home this morning. has been raining heavily and subsequently, haven't been able to venture out at all. Just been having a morning tea break from my usual morning routine. Clean up the kids rooms a little, scrub some dishes at the sink, ( no washing machines for me) and mop the kitchen floors as they were becoming  rather grubby looking. The weather isn't really that inspiring, and I  should start painting some more....

Been painting today. .... with my hands as tools on paper. Frees up my style somewhat which I was what I had intended. The painting is an extension on my other white cloud series , but with a sombre note this time.

No longer a 'white cloud drifting', but rather a 'polluted cloud drifting'.

In the foreground, my husband's sheet music on the table.

eco printing

Playing around with eco printing techniques or the extraction of ink from the leaves and flowers of petals through the use of a mallet or hammer. For this project I used an assortment of plant material from the garden -  

dandelion flowers, nasturtium flowers and petals, hibiscus flowers and autumn leaves from the maple tree, which incidentally, gave some good satisfying purple, red and green tones. I covered a handmade cardboard box with my printed fabric and now the box is used for collecting interesting treasures found from nature. ....lichen  on twigs, stones, feathers, flowers for drying and so on. 

The joys of life without a car. Spotted these two young ring tail possums on one of our regular walking routes. Nestled in the fork of a large old gum tree, their nest is only 2 metres above the ground so I am worried about them being so close to the road side. I'll just let them be, as transferring them to a new spot may confuse the mother. Nature knows best. Photo credit to my daughter Camille. 

Meanwhile, back home, I've been testing my marlinespike skills once again - this time on a set of coasters using the turks head knot. Cotton washing line cord in a natural color was my material of choice, and I'm glad of the way they turned out. I must say, my handiwork , including the front door mat has been much admired these past months. Is an enjoyable past time, and only requires patience on the part of the crafts person. Here's the tutorial I followed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bDjVb6dPec

 

A recent addition to my collection of Ardizzone books. This one is titled Peter The Wanderer and is quite a rarity. first published in 1963, this edition was released a couple of years later. On every page a lovely spread of Ardizzone art awaits the viewer complemented by a quaint tale of a curious and adventurous young boy and an old worldly sailor. What a delightful read!