Spring Interrupted by Fluffy White Stuff, Tedious Crackle Confusion and a Feeble Justification of Faltering Noble Aspirations. . .

Well, Spring was on its way, it really was, we had crocuses, the very first daffodils and some of those small, early irises, it was all going so well. . . 

But then a large quantity of cold air from Siberia decided to spoil the party. We had serious amounts of snow (for round here OK? Yeah, I know it's not much really, compared to many places but let me have a good old British moan about it), and temperatures down to about -6 at night. It was all rather beautiful when the sun came out, but it did mean that the waste pipe from the sink managed to freeze solid so we couldn't use the kitchen sink or the dishwasher. But were we disheartened? Well, yes, obviously, but we just about managed by using every plate in the house by the time the thaw came. . . Stoic? Isn't that a make of car? . . .

Very festive. Only the wrong festival, it's nearly Easter fer gawd sake

The house has rabbit ears. How endearing. .

The cats responded by staying indoors and sitting on Gill's iPad. Maybe it was nice and warm ;-)

Boudicca's response to digital media

Anyway, spike stuff still selling on FB, and some business has been done via my Etsy shop, so I am feeling pleased.

I made some crackle beads, photographed them etc, but then had to work out which beads were in which photograph, as they looked very similar and the only distinguishing features were the particular pattern of crackles on particular beads. 

Cue eyestrain and interesting language. I sorted it out in the end and labelled each set so I don't send the wrong beads to any prospective buyers. . . The pics make the process look a lot easier than it was. . .

You may recall in previous posts, how I went on about how I was following my artistic path and any that financial gain was a welcome extra, but not something that influenced my creative decision making. . . 

I know. . . I know. . .

Well, that noble, hi falutin' stuff is all very well, but faced with the prospect of making some stuff you are pretty sure people will buy, or going off on a creative tangent and 'growing as an artist', the former is tending to win out at the moment.

It's not so much the thought of gaining money that attracts, as it is the thought of losing almost certain earnings if the more commercial route isn't taken. It's like throwing money away ;-)

It takes a steely resolve to turn down likes and sales, especially if such things are a bit of a novelty ;-)

Still, I'm sure it will all stabilise eventually. I'll work it all out. It's still a bit new. 

I'm enjoying the ride meanwhile. I guess I need to take my audience along with me on my tangents eventually ;-)

Below are some of my newer spikes. Mostly sold. . . 'Enjoy', as they say. . . annoyingly. . .

Jon x

Guinea Fowl, Norfolk Pronunciation and Faux Stoneware. . .

Oh yeah. . . and we painted the house.

The Spring has sprung,
The grass is riz,
I wonder where dem birdies is. . . etc

You know the rest. Probably.
We had that poem in one of a series of very nice poetry books for kids made for schools in the sixties/seventies called 'Voices'. Very much of their time. I must try and track some down, they were good.

Yep, spring has sprung all right. Our first in this house ;-) All sorts of bulbs springing up, as they do. Grass growing, blossom starting to appear and the first chiff-chaff of the year singing. He'll be an overwintering one, getting his voice back together I think, it's a touch too early for migrants yet though I could be wrong.

The geese are sitting on eggs in their nesting box things by the pond. (the geese and boxes, and pond, were all passed on to us by the house's previous owner who had lived there for forty years. . .) They are fluffy feathered things called 'Sebastopol Geese', and apparently, due to the fluffy oddness of their feathers, they are rubbish at incubating eggs, at least the ones on the outside of the clutch which can't be kept warm enough.

Nothing to do with ducks, geese or spring, but just some recent bead eye candy

Ducks have appeared, and are behaving badly. I never knew ducks went in for what I can only describe as gang rape. Seriously, four of them gang up on one female and physically hold her down. . Nature huh? Still, she has made a nest in the bole of a coppiced hazelnut tree nearby.

The moorhen has a nest in the base of a willow tree by the pond, and the jackdaws are eying the chimney in a purposeful sort of way. Oh well, I might have to light a smokey fire for a short while to put them off.

Oh yeah, Guinea Fowl. We inherited two of them along with the geese, except a fox got one (we assume) so the poor lonely male has been mooning about with the chickens, looking as sad as a guinea fowl can look, all winter. We decided to get another female to keep him company, so my wife went off to get one. She came back with two. The guy at the poultry place was obviously a good salesman. . .
We were advised to keep them apart from the male for a while, but visible to him. OK, so we put them in the fruit cage (also inherited. . .). Only we forgot there was no netting roof on it and that guinea fowl can fly when they want to. The male went nuts when he saw them, it was like all his christmases had come at once, he started running back and forth like a thing possessed, fluffing up his feathers and making those distinctive rusty-gate-on-steroids noises guinea fowl make. The females weren't too impressed and were pretty disorientated anyway, so when he battered his way through the netting and got in to the fruit cage, they promptly took to the air. One flew into the next field never to be seen again, (no idea what happened to it) and the other one flew into a nearby apple tree. So much for keeping them separate. . .
Luckily, things calmed down a bit, she stuck around and now her and him are a proper couple and spend their time pottering round the garden together in perfect and endearing guinea fowl harmony. They don't sing in harmony however, and their song is not remotely endearing, but hey, you can't have everything.

More eye candy - faux ceramic style

Norfolk Pronunciation - We are getting to grips with the local accent, which we love by the way. It's quite soft, and fairly slow, as country accents tend to be. A computer is a compooter, a human is a hooman, and my friend tells me he had a boss called Mr Pugh, whose name was pronounced 'Mr Poo' in the local accent. Well, it made me snigger. . .

Kind of interlocking beads. Faux Stone ware or what?

Oh yeah, polymer clay stuff. I've been playing with includes as they are called, I believe. All the DIY I have been doing and the materials involved has inspired all sorts of ideas, and all sorts of things to mix with the clay, texture the clay or destroy the clay. . . My experiments have turned out some interesting results. I shall pursue the techniques further. You can get a great faux stone ware look. . .

Complimentary shaped beads, well rustic.

Well, I have delighted you enough, as Mr Bennett would have it, so I will shut up until the next outpouring, which will likely be in a week or so I should imagine.
Laters,
Jon x