Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Out and about

The last week has taken us to Sydney and then back to the mountain - so the iPhoneography for this Wednesday includes: some beach stuff (including the moon); and flowers and fungi.

First a small (about 2cm wide) beautiful fungi Fiona found on our morning walk today (note the tiny spider at 3 o'clock); and another tiny (about 1 cm wide) fungi hanging out in one of the cavities in the book wall.

©2015 Barry Smith - Fungi with spider
©2015 Barry Smith - Fungi cave in the book-wall
A small seed caught in a spider's web being whipped around by the wind - hence the lines.

©2015 Barry Smith - Seed, spider's web and a breeze
Flowers

©2015 Barry Smith - Unfurling
©2015 Barry Smith - White crucifix orchid in front of the book-wall



Glass and stone and bird and stone.



The moon over a Christmas day Coogee beach

©2015 Barry Smith - Eerie light 
©2015 Barry Smith - Cloud diffused moonlight
And a small example the sad aftermath of Christmas day celebrations on the beach - thank goodness for council staff who cleaned up.



It is good to be back on the mountain to welcome in the  new year.

Friday, December 25, 2015

Imagine peace and happiness

This year there is a lovely connection between our Christmas tree and International Peace Day. Some of the peace doves I put up in the tree at the front of the block for International Peace Day (21 September) started to drop to the ground as the copper sheet cut through the twine when they swung in the breeze.  So Fiona and I decided that this year our  minimalist Christmas tree would be decorated with peace doves.

©2015 Barry Smith - A Christmas peace dove
©2015 Barry Smith - Our minimalist Christmas tree with its 9 peace doves.
Wishing all people a happy and peace filled Christmas.

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

New phone = sharper photos?

Well it has happened - I have moved from my old iPhone 5 to my new iPhone 6S. Why did I do this - the camera is meant to be better. And the old phone has been cascaded to Fiona's dad - so all is well.

I do think the photos are sharper.

©2015 Barry Smith - Contrast
©2015 Barry Smith - Sunlight and dew droplets
©2015 Barry Smith
©2015 Barry Smith
©2015 Barry Smith
©2015 Barry Smith
©2015 Barry Smith - New coffe blossoms
©2015 Barry Smith - Tiny tiny blossoms with dew droplets
©2015 Barry Smith
©2015 Barry Smith - A tiny crucifix orchid
©2015 Barry Smith - A drift of leaves
©2015 Barry Smith - Layers of white
So a new era of Barry's iPhoneography on Wednesday has started.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

A bit of this and that

There was no time for blogging on Friday but on Thursday afternoon there was a little time for: art exchange, art gifting and art-play.

The gifting referred to the giving away of a stash of small peace and daily leaf word leaves; the art exchange was about the completed belly button jewellery being delivered; and the art play was a little cutting, forming and resin play to make pendants.

The peace gift leaves - the last two of a stash of 15; and some Daily Leaf Words.

©2015 Barry Smith - Peace give-away leaves
©2015 Barry Smith - Three sets of Daily Leaf Words
©2015 - Barry Smith - Wonder
The completed belly button jewels with their piecing attachments.

©2015 Barry Smith 
©2015 Barry Smith
©2015 Barry Smith
©2015 Barry Smith
And the results of a couple of hours art play with E & L - creativity is always good for the spirit. The circular pendants are about 25mm in diameter; and the squares are 30mm and 25mm.







Monday marks a new week, a new beginning.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Beauty lift

In times of sadness - the colour and detail of flowers can give one a lift - the beauty a reminder of more joyful and sharing times.






The flowers above - collected, given and encountered offered me a little more light and centredness this week.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

A tiny challenge with a difference

©2015 Barry Smith - Gold??? - no just brass, copper and steel filings and drill burrs near the vise after my most recent round of making Artisan Lamps 
I was asked to have a go at making some belly button jewellery. The pieces needed to be about 5cm in length and a bit different; in the style of some of my as-if-holding-water earrings; but the components needed to be tiny. As you cant see from the photos below I gave it a go.

Roughly designing some possibilities.


©2015 Barry Smith - Triangular design 
©2015 Barry Smith - A square option
Creating some components - pouring droplets of resin into tiny forms - less than 1cm.

©2015 Barry Smith - Tiny 'bowls' of resin and silver-plate punchings
And assembling pieces to create a number of dangly options. The final products did not fully reflect the rough designs - still they reflected the general ideas and used most of the components I made. All designs have curves so the components don't dig into the tummy skin.

©2015 Barry Smith -  Four dangly belly button jewellery option - made so the attach to belly button pieceing rings or rods  
©2015 Barry Smith -  Triangles and crystal
©2015 Barry Smith -  Mixing it up
©2015 Barry Smith -  Just circles - might be too wide
©2015 Barry Smith - Circle, squares, chains and a tiny heart
Over the weekend I also progressed: a stash of small (about 7-9cm long) peace leaves for giving away; leaves for thee more Daily Leaf Word sets; and Leaf Spoons for Maleny Additions.

©2015 Barry Smith - First opening of the leaf forms
©2015 Barry Smith - Leaf forms fully opened and given a twist - about 40 leaf forms in this stack
I did not get to finish the leaf forms because there were too many social events and too much rain - couldn't do the outside grinding band polishing - that will await another day.