A good days hunting

Despite the very bad weather, or maybe because of it myself the baby and the beagles had a great day out collecting today.

I am guessing that the wind had whipped up the sea and the trees making all sorts of finds very easy pickings.

 

 

 

I will have to go out hunting for treasures on foul days more often!

On the theme of leaf skeletons

Today while walking the dogs I found some holly leaf skeletons. These look great, so I am excited to encorporate them into a piece.

Skeleton leaves - individual leaves

After much experimenting I have found that drying the leaves, stretching them out flat, and then backing them with a very thin piece of clay gives a lovely result.

 

I am thinking lots of these in a large frame, maybe backed with gold will give a great effect

Material - leaf skeletons

With exactly the right conditions and plenty of time the flesh parts of the leaf rot away leaving the much tougher veins behind. The reamining skeleton leaves are just like a very fine and beautiful lace, I think they will make a very striking piece:

Small Driftwood Frames - 6 by 6

Small driftwood frames

These are all 6 by 6 frames:
 

 

 

 

 

 

I know that driftwood has been very over used over the years, and it can look very old hat in some settings. Sadly this makes it so easy to forget the fact that driftwood is such a beautiful material. It just astounds me to find so many different types and texture of wood, absolutely beautiful.

 

I think one of the most striking things about driftwood is its texture, its just such a tactile object. I would love to leave the glass front off of these frames, but I think that would be impractical, lovely to touch, but impossible to dust!



Photography - Brownsea Island Sept 2012

The stunning, the gorgeous, the beautiful Brownsea Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Despite being eaten alive by mosquitos we managed to get some lovely images from our day out on the Island. The red squirrels were out and about in abundance, but were just to fast for us to capture on camera.

 

Treasure trove baskets

Treasure trove baskets.

I have for a long time worked with families and children, and the concept of treasure baskets filled with unusal items to support children's development ( and for play) really appeals to me. This is an exciting new development, so watch this space.......

http://treasuretrovebaskets.blogspot.co.uk/

Holey stones

 

Small paperweights

 These are extremely tactile

 

 

 

Large doorstops

 

Stone hangers

A great addition to any garden.

 

 Holey stone heart

 

 

Circular hangers

 

 

Beach glass - large

 

Beach glass

  

I have some large pieces in a 12 by 12 inch frame:

 

 

 

Beach glass is more widely used in the States, although over there it tends to go under the title of sea glass.

 

For anyone who does not know about beach glass I will re blog this from an earlier blog:

 

A few years ago my oldest daughter fell and cut her hand very badly on a piece of glass that someone had smashed in a river. Luckily she had only a scar and no lasting damage to her hand, but for the space of a few centimetres she could have had a scar to her face or even permanent damage to her hand.

Glass is such a lethal material with the power to cause so much harm. However nature, a bit of water and some time can turn the glass from a danger to something harmless and beautiful.

For as long as I can remember I have combed beaches in search of beach glass ( glass that has been worn down by the action of the sea). Now my children join me, with a reward of 10p for a more common colour such as white or green, and a special 50p price tag on a rare colour such as red or blue.

Other than the rare colours my favourite finds are those pieces that hold some of the shape, part of the design or the pattern of the original piece.

Material - Textured stones

Textured stones

 

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Lovely patterns, but not sure where to go with these yet.

 

A walk in the woods with 2 exhausted kids - hazelnut shells

Hazelnut shells

 

Today we headed out for a late afternoon walk in the woods, always a challenge after they have been at school for the day!

 

 

We found a stash of hazelnut shells, where the nut had been eaten over the winter by a woodland critter. The remaining shells, may have some potential.....................

Material - worn sticks

Worn sticks

 

 

I am thinking a hanging bundle of these could make a lovely addition to a garden, and a big attraction to those important insects.

Material - broken sea shells

Broken sea shells

 

 

 

 

 

 

Collected from the Fort Victoria beach in June, not certain how to use them yet, maybe I need another holiday to help me think!

And some more broken shell and shell pieces collected more recently. I am really pleased with how tactile and rustic the pieces made using the shells are looking.

Material - acorn bases

Acorn bases

 

Broken, whole, front or bottom, I think the feel, look and texture of these fairy teacups is so full of potential.

 

 

IOW, Isle of wonder

 

Every year for a very long time we have spent as much time as possible on the beautiful Isle of Wight. I have a collection of beach glass and holey stones that have exclusively come from those stunning beaches.

 

The best beaches for collecting and chilling tend to be the less popular ones. In particular Brook and the beach behind the fort at Fort Victoria are my very favourites. 

Acorn bases - fairy teacups from 6/9/12

Acorn bases - fairy teacups from 6/9/12

Work in progress

 

The regular circle pattern is very appealing, and I am wondering if several of these pads either hung on a wire or in a box frame will have a very effective look.

 

 

Early days for these, not sure if I prefer the gold or white background, also debating about the straight lines or the more natural pattern of the acorns?

 

 

Broken tiles - works in progress

Broken tiles

Work in progress

 

 ( Clay backing)

 

Contrast between the shiny veneer on the front face of the tiles pieces, and the functional patterning on the back faces.

 

Baby Elliot and I headed out to walk the dogs near Basingstoke and found another lovely source of hardcore containing more pieces of lovely broken tile. This time the hardcore is making up a path through a lovely piece of woodland, so collecting them takes time, but is certainly no chore.

 

(6 by 6 frame)

 

This is a new idea  of using one of the box frames to show the pieces at their best.

 

Cat, myself and the dogs going for a walk.....

Yesterday Cat  (my youngest daughter), myself and our two hyperactive beagles ( Abby and Kelvin), headed out for a woodland walk.

We had a lovely 2 hours in the sunshine, shocking yes I know, but it was actually sunny on an English Summers day!

On the walk we found some lovely blackberries, which are currently in the fridge awaiting being turned into the base of a sponge cake (if we manage this task before they rot).

The dogs had a few naughty moments, and at one point spent about 15 minutes off in the distance somewhere barking at something, a dog I guess considering that Abby is terrified of other dogs.

Cat collected some fairy teacups ( the bases of acorns), and looking at them these seem to be full of possibilities.....

At the end of our walk we came across a pile of hardcore rubble, which included some lovely small pieces of old broken tiles. The majoity were white fragments, but some had a bit of lovely colour or pattern to them. The tiles made their way into our collectors bag ( an empty dog poo bag), and it was only later when cleaning them, that I noticed the backs of the tiles had some really attractive patterning, so watch this space for the outcome.....

Front faces

 

Rear faces

 

More tiles found on another walk:

 

 

Material - beach ceramics

Beach ceramics

I am almost certain that beach ceramics are my favourite.

They are very hard to find, and I think the rarity in part adds to their beauty.

Its very obvious how so much glass gets into the sea, and then gets eroded away to create my beloved beach glass, but I always wonder how a vase, teacup or other ceramic item has got disposed of into the sea.

Often the patterns and texture seem to be so conserved and complete, despite the ravaging strength of the sea.

Photography - Mudeford

 

Mudeford

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Gale force winds, but a great day out.