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.
We set aside yesterday morning to spend a bit of creative time. Hopefully Thursday morning will continue to be watercolour time for me.
As you can see from the photo above I progressed the painting of the stone; and I started one of a rusted bit of wall and a triangular fixing. Good to have at least two paintings on the go to let things dry.
A photo of the workspace on the kitchen table follows.
A couple more images of the progress made. These works are 8-9cm square. I think the finished works will look good with a black matt.
The blog post is quite brief; but it was good to make the commitment to do the work and get the tools out of storage.
We have arrived in the village and have done a wander in the cottage yard, along the village road and to the cove this morning. This first blog post from the cottage shares first a few images from the last two days; and a few from our trip to north.
First a couple of images from the cove in sunrise light.
And a few on our travel north.
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We are so fortunate to be over here once again; and have arrived at the cottage to sunny fine days.
Before I departed our Maleny home and workshop I got the chance to melt a bit of metal to make some peace tokens-buttons. The metal is pewter with a touch of silver and brass. You can see some of the finished tokens-buttons above.
I poured the molten metal into casting sand into which I had pressed an older form to enable me to pour quite a stash in one metal melt session. See casting sand with impressions below.
Following are some images of the casting process including the casting imperession burnt by the casting process.
I do love the brass colour on these pieces.
The token or button have a very organic look and feel.
I would like to paint a series of watercolours that focus on detail. I have started with the painting above and below. I have only got the base colours done so far. The paintings will be 8X8cm square.
The painting are based on photos I have taken in Scotland - see below.
Some process-progress images follow.
Fiona bought a bunch of sunflowers to brighten the room for her dad's birthday celebration. The good news is that they have just lasted such a long time; and frequently one's eyes are drawn to them. They just lift the room; and as I said in the title it is like we have brought a fragment of sunshine into the house.
I love how at times one can see the reflection of the flowers in the glass on the wall.
Sunflowers are such a humble flower; but their beauty is so uplifting.
I'm hoping that my artists' book, Compassion Scroll (see opening photo) will be exhibited as part of the Narratives 2025 artist's book exhibition in Maleny. Because we are heading off to Scotland it has been important to pack up the scroll and get one of the organisers to take delivery of it before we go.
This book was originally made for the Compassion exhibition in Nambour however the quote by Kirstin Hannah is just as applicable, or more so, in the current environment.
The quote is printed using traditional letterpress on a strip of pianola paper. The scroll container is made from an antique small brass hand pump. The door into the scroll container was hand cut and is mounted using recycled small brass hinges. The pump handle is used to roll up the scroll. The scroll is held in its extended position using an antique clock weight that I made a hook on the end of.
A few different images follow.
A fully unfurled version of the scroll follows.
