Take a block of wood...

 

One of my goals for this trip to the cottage is to whittle-carve a few wee birds. I tested my ability to saw a block of wood using hand held saws before I left home.  Over the last couple of days I have worked on my first cottage bird and by this afternoon I had got the bird to a point where it needs a bit more fine sanding and oiling as you can see in the opening photo.

The following photos show the process of sawing a wedge of birch.

Once I had cut a couple of blocks to the required size I marked up one of the blocks and used a cheap and dodgy coping saw the cut a rough bird shape. I have ordered a quality coping saw for future bird projects.

After giving the rough form a sand I used one of our wood carving knives I brought over from our Maleny home to carve a better shape in preparation for hand sanding.

As I said in the opening paragraph my next steps are to finish the sanding the bird in the opening photo and then oil the bird.

Evening light, an inquisitive sheep and blossoms

Obviously from the title this blog post is a bit of this and that. 

I have not turned yet of looking out the top back window of the cottage to take in the skyline at dusk. The blue and contrasting bushes and branches are just gorgeous - images  above and below.

On our way home from a walk we were spied by one of our neighbour's shepherds; and it was letting us know it had us under surveillance - made both of us smile - love how it is leaning out to get the best view.

The following images are of flowers opening up - in pots at our front door.

The broom bush in the photo below is just about f after a brief rain shower.

So much beauty even at the tail end of winter.

 

Installation and painting of a different nature

 

Over the last few days we have had some sunny weather that has enabled Fiona and I to do outdoor chores  on the cottage and for a neighbour. 

As you can see from the photos above and below my art installation this week took on different form - installing a safety mirror for a neighbour across the road. The post is a salvaged piece of scaffolding from another neighbour on whose land the mirror was installed. Grand community effort!!!  

We have started the job of sealing the northern wall of the cottage in preparation for painting over some old pebble render. Photos below show me up a borrowed extension ladder; and Fiona testing a few sealant paints.

The wee shed out the back, aka the workshop, needs some patching and then a repaint. Fiona used a bit of left over paint on the shed. We will need another warm (above 12 degrees) and dry day to paint the shed.

We also got time to give the bin enclosure a make over; and put in a rusty support to give it an added arty dimension. Of course the paint colour matches the cottage trims now!!!

Getting these jobs done on clear and warmer days means we can immerse ourselves in indoor creative pursuits on inclement day.  

Another morning at the kitchen table

 

On Thursday morning I enjoyed progressing and completing the four watercolour and pen pieces seen above. Photos of the individual pieces can be found at the end of the blog post.

You can see from the photo below I had spread myself out quite nicely.

Some progress-process photos of the pieces follow.

And some close up photos of the completed and almost completed pieces follow. My favourites are the first two - bog cotton in the breeze looking down on the bog; and the stone attached to an installation with rusted wire. The bog cotton piece still needs a bit of pen work.

Doing these paintings, based on close up or cropped photos I have taken, is both interesting and a challenge. Interesting to attempt to create the paintings without trying to make them photo like; and challenging to attempt to render some of the detail of the photos.

But at the end of the day it has been enjoyable.

Harr and other fragments

 

On our walk to the cove we noticed that the harr was moving in from the sea - see photo above and below. 

During the morning it moved inland - we returned to the cove to see how it looked through the fishing net drying poles.

Following are some images of beauty and quirky bits (aka hair on barbed wire) captured during the week.

The recent fine weather has offered more outdoor opportunities and hence more chances to enjoy beauty.

Old and new sculptural installations

 

Fiona and I installed a new wee sculptural installation in the front yard yesterday - a set of leaves on metal rods on a salvaged weather plank. 

But before showing photos of that installation - above and below are a few photos of the installations we have put in on past visits to the cottage.

Following a a few photos by Fiona of me drilling the worn plank to set the rods into.

And a couple more of the installation.

We think this might be the last installation as the front yard is full enough.