Clearing the decks - repurposing materials

 

Over the last month I have been sorting and clearing materials I have collected and in some cases even cut and drilled - but not assembled - see below. 

Whilst some metal and bits and pieces have made their way into recycling I decided to assemble all the jewellery related bits - making earrings and pendants. 

A couple of process photos follow. A couple of delicate earring blanks cut from Scottish slate - ground and drilled!! Earring drops cut from vintage tea-spoons etc

Photos of assembled earrings and pendants appear in the photos below. I love the combination of the rusty washers, riveted silver plated band and a solid silver chain - gorgeous contrasts.

The sorting, clearing and assembling processes in both the workshop and on the jewellery assembling desk now means I can get on with other metal work tasks I have planned including: another Memory Keeper Bowl; another Meditation Incense Bowl; a few more Daily Leaf Word Sets; some small metal books with stamped words; and some patinated copper leaves.  These things will appear on the blog over the next couple of months. 

Beauty for joy and hope

 

Over the last few years Fiona's dad Graham has spread joy and hope by installing orchid plants in about 30 trees outside villas in our little Maleny village. This year has  seen an abundance of these plants flowering.

So many folk have said how having orchids suddenly appearing in the trees just makes them smile. The great thing about  these flowering orchids is that they will stay in bloom for at least a few weeks - a gift that just keeps giving.

This blog post simply shares a few images of joyful-hopeful orchid beauty.

 Graham's orchids simply reinforces that  doing small local things can offer moments of hope in challenging times.

Metal play and water features

 

The image above shows the outcome of a bit of art metal play. I wanted to see how three layers of copper sheet would behave when pressed in wood and metal forms a number of times in my hand operated hydraulic press. If you like quirky spiky bowls this bowl will appeal to you; but if you are challenged by the square edges and pointy bits this one is not for you.  A couple of process-progress photos follow.

I think I will try this again but maybe with offset circles of metal. The hydraulic pressing process resulted in the three layers of metal binding together - no glue or rivets required - very organic!!!

I also finished hammering a couple of large bowls - one from the laundry copper and one from the base of the hot water tank. Both are water features - most likely watering spots for birds - stones for them to land on. The first bowl is about 450mm in diameter; and the second is about 350mm in diameter.

Who knows where the metal might take me over the next couple of weeks.

Doors and windows - postcard size watercolours

 Lately I have been doing watercolours of doors and windows I photographed whilst at the cottage in Scotland. I have finished four - two doors and two windows as you can see from the opening photo and the three following.

As some folk will be aware when I'm doing a watercolour series I can have two-four on the go at the same time. The following photos show some of the process-progress - in a bit of random order.

Whilst I will continue working on doors and windows I will be turning my hand to birds again as a sales opportunity appears to be opening up for my bird watercolours - more on that down the track.

Blossoms to make one smile on the inside

 

I know I keep repeating myself but it is true - the warm weather seems to be bringing out so much beauty. Stopping to take the occasional photo is simply my way of taking the opportunity to immerse myself in some of the beauty. Check out the water dragon sunny itself in the second photo below.

There are quirky bits of beauty such as the new growth on the Cycad.

G's orchids are running riot.

And what about the following beauty photo by Fiona where she has captured the waratah (from a bush we planted many years ago) and the colours in the artwork.

May we have the presence of mind and take the time to pause and let the beauty seep into our spirits through our eyes.