Rustnstuff: 03/18

Friday, March 30, 2018

Vase with flowers ready for art show

I got a bit of time in the studio-garage yesterday and quite a bit today. Ken has offered to transport my entry into the Aspects Art Show to Goondiwindi if I had it completed over the weekend. So that was the focus off my studio time.

I had to make one last flower and adapt my original prototype - I wanted to have 7 flowers in the end. I have had to use quite a large tulip vase for the last flower form as I had not been able to source a smaller one.

Flowers were ready for their final grind and polish.

It had been suggested to me that I might attach leaves to the flowers. I rather liked the sparse for of the flowers asa you can see in the photo below.

But I decided to compromise and make some detached leaves to add to the arrangement.

Fiona helped me with deciding on the balance between the height of the vase and the length of the stems of the flowers. I think we have got it right - used glass beads to raise the stems up and also to lock them in place once they were arranged.

I now need to document what I have done and pack the lot for Ken to take on his trip. The final piece stands at about 1m high.

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Another moist and misty morning

©Barry Smith - Brilliant purple with crystal clear droplets

It has been raining almost every day for over a month now. Fiona and I were away for quite a bit of it experiencing crisp cold snow days. When I walked Treehaven Way this morning I met one of the regular walkers and she said "I'm just over it now." She and her dogs did not look like they were enjoying the misty morning.

©Barry Smith - Tree at top of our driveway

©Barry Smith - A subdued family of magpies in the mist

Still it is a good time for fungi and seed pods - they are beginning to pop up in all shapes and sizes.

©Barry Smith - Micro fungi - about five mm in diameter

©Barry Smith - Fungi on the book wall

©Barry Smith I love how the droplets are cascading from this fungi

©Barry Smith - Fungi on the base of a stump

©Barry Smith - Seeds bursting forth

©Barry Smith

The valley was totally whited out this morning. On Monday it was shrouded in cloud - lots of clod puddles amongst the trees.

©Barry Smith

I guess if the rain ceases it won't be too long before we are complaining about needing water for the tanks and plants - we can be fickle.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Rust and other fragments in the landscape

No time in the studio/garage today as I was helping a friend move house. One of the payoffs however was seeing the vehicle below on the side of the bush road. I love the way nature is just incorporating the vehicle into landscape by growing around and through it.

It reminded me of the other bits of rust and worn layered paint that I captured in Scotland; including some bits of rust in the snow. So for rust lovers here are a few photos.

I guess I will be back in the studio soon.

Friday, March 23, 2018

Light and other fragments from Scotland

Even though it is Friday and of course that usually means time in the studio-garage that just could not happen today as there were too many on-the-block jobs and a community share house meeting.

To give myself a little art injection I looked at some of my iPhone photos from the recent time spent in the northern highlands of Scotland.

The light in the highlands can be quite different to that on the mountain; and of course the presence of snow added to the mix.

And of course I tend to be drawn to detail of objects and the landscape.

Hopefully I will be able to get back into the studio next week.

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Colour and mist to welcome us back

We have been in the remoter north of the Scottish Highlands Scotland for about 5 weeks refurbishing the wee 120 year old stone cottage below.

Maybe more images from the Scotland trip in a following post. We are now back on the mountain.We spent 5 weeks in snow; and have been welcomed home by warmish rain and mist.