A Closer Look at Ottoman

More Oak Galls and Yearly Change

Yesterday evening, Boo and I went in search of more turkey feathers as they were around quite a bit the day before. We didn't find any that were in decent shape, but Boo found some oak galls on the ground under an oak tree that we hadn't checked before. Then we noticed that this particular tree was loaded with oak galls. So, we went back to the house and Boo got his wheelbarrow and I got the camera. Hurried back to the tree and I started picking. I only picked what I could easily reach...there were many more.

The photo above is of a large oak gall on the branch which is stronger and different looking than the ones on the leaves (the tree made them afterall, so I suppose the material on the leaves and branches are a bit different). I'm starting to wonder if the ones on the branches will make a stronger dye than the leaf galls. I plan to make the dye seperately to see what happens (first, I have to do some research on how to make this particular dye...I'm such a beginner).

There's our loot from one tree: 119 oak galls in all! You can see the gall that was growing on the branch to the left that has a line nearly bisecting it...it's the largest.

Here's the biggest I've found...it fell from a tree after a windy afternoon:

It's the type that grows from a branch. There's another one like this in another tree, too high for me to reach. I hope it falls soon! I think that these get so big because the leaves fall from the trees each fall and the galls on the branches can continue to grow. I wonder?

It's funny, last year I was posting continuously about blackberries...this year, it's about oak galls. The blackberries aren't in abundance like they were last year, or at least they aren't ripening well. The weather is cold and rainy again and I hope it doesn't stay this way...two months of summer just isn't enough. We had a cold and wet spring and usually it doesn't get cold and wet until October. Sigh.

Yes, each year is different. I'm noticing this much more these days because I'm collecting more from nature. Jenny and I talked about this recently. Last year, we were canning plums like crazy and there were only a few apples on her trees. This year, the plums are few and she has tons of apples. The weather is different...the fruit is different.

Happy Monday, dear reader!

Big Cartel Love

There are quite a few shops on Big Cartel that I admire, so I thought I'd share. The only trick is to remember to bookmark them because I can't heart them like I can on Etsy (anyone know if there's a way to keep track of Big Cartel shops you like other than bookmarking?)

Anyway, here's some shops that I thought of off the top of my head....

RUST (via)

Shanna Murry

tinctory

small stump

Happy Friday!

New in the Shop: Lichen for your Wall 20

This piece is made from a 3 1/2 x 5 vintage embroidery hoop (one of the most difficult sizes for me to find), kona cotton, and the naturally hand-dyed embroidery floss by Barefoot Shepherdess.

Lichen for your Wall 20 (3 1/2 x 5 in.)

The dyes used in this piece are: light gray green (pomegranate and indigo), orange (annatto), and yellow (gardenia).

In other news, it's been quite crisp in the mornings here, perfect for hot tea, but I'm still not ready for the rain to start up again.

Happy Monday to you, dear readers!

Thunderstorm!

We had a wonderful thunderstorm yesterday which helped with the thick hanging smoke from a forest fire and dropped the temperature something like 30 degrees. There is nothing like the smell of a summer rain! The winds from the storm also gifted the ground with some oak galls which I snatched up as quickly as it was safe to go outside after the storm.

This photo reminds me of one Eva took of her own galls she collected.

Surface Quality

So, a little fine art talk today. After I finished the first piece I was working on (encased the seeds in the beeswax/resin mixture), I started on a second. I didn't carve the cavities for the seeds large enough for many of the seeds to achieve the surface quality I wanted when I filled them with the seeds and wax. So, I ended up scraping the wax off, digging out the seeds, and re-carving the cavities. Once I placed the seeds back in to see if everything looked the way I wanted, I noticed that there was beauty there as well. (The first two pictures seeds that had been re-embedded, but the wax was still too thick, so some had been scraped off...I find there is beauty there as well.)

I like for my process to show in my work (therefore, the piece becomes a palimpsest), so all the reworking to scrape the wax and dig the seeds out show on this piece. I like objects with a story.

Careful Collecting

As shown in the last month or so by various posts, I've been collecting quite a bit of natural bits and pieces in my surrounding area...mostly for dyeing purposes. Here's what I found last week:

Firstly, do you recall the seeds Jenny gave me last year that I sprinkled about after the first rain of the fall? The Nigella (love in a mist) has flowered and dried. I won't be using these seeds for dyeing, but I thought that the forms of the dried seed head and seeds were beautiful.

I also found another oak gall, this time on the underside of a leaf (which I could reach) that was still attached to the tree (I have since found another).

You can see where it was attached to the leaf on the right side of the form (above).

We've also had some wild turkeys around. I found a turkey feather (what I believe to be a turkey feather) the day after they had been around quite a bit. I also saw some a couple of days ago, a mother and four half-sized babies.

Lastly, we are lucky to have redwoods in our area (even though we are not on the coast). I found some cones under a redwood tree and Boo and I collected some up. I'm not sure if they will work as a dye, but Barefoot Shepherdess gets lovely browns from alder cones, I figure it's worth a try.

I've been reading some lovely posts about mushrooms lately (speaking of collecting). I know Oregon is known a bit for wild mushrooms, but I don't know anything about it. So, I revel in the beauty of these posts (and there's so much more mushroom beauty from both of these gals...these are just my favorite posts)...here and here (and psssst...natural dye from mushrooms here).

The Blues

Wow! Check out this treasury that just made the front page of Etsy...it's not as easy to make it up there...the community is growing! So, it's pretty exciting and remarkable when it does happen.

Speaking of blues, I usually love the fall season, but I find myself dreading it this year. We had so much rain and cold (oh, that cold damp) through the spring, that I'm hoping for an indian summer!

So some links....

An alphabet carved from the graphite tips of pencils.

More about the materials that were used in mummification.

A blog devoted to interesting letterhead designs (typography!).

Travelling? Here is one blogger's list of non-perishable healthy snacks for travel.

Enjoy the sunshine! And, thank you, dear readers, for your comments on the last few posts. I enjoy them so very much.

A Wee Bit Creepy

Look what my sister happened upon the other day....

Look familiar?

Sort of creepy isn't it? Apparently, Sarah of Cursive Design and I have the same taste in shoes and what color to paint our toes!

New in the Shop: Lichen for your Wall/Vintage

I listed a few things in the shop at the end of last week and forgot to share. I finally got one Lichen for your Wall piece finished with the naturally hand-dyed embroidery floss. I also finished one of the Special Limited Edition Lichen for your Wall pieces (2 more to make) and I listed a vintage Pyrex bowl that was part of my personal collection...however, I got it before I decided to collect the butterfly gold pattern, so I had a surplus of bowls.

Lichen for your Wall 19 (4 in.)

This piece has four colors embroidered to make "lichen:" teal (gardenia and indigo), peach (sakura), light green (yomogi), and pinky-red (madder).

Lichen for your Wall 19 (4 in.)

Special Limited Edition Lichen for your Wall 8 (6 in.)

What makes these a special edition:

* A vintage 6 inch metal embroidery hoop.

* 100% linen fabric.

* French knots embroidered in cashmere embroidery floss: cranberry, winter white, medium gray brown, and caramel brown. The french knots are small and large, tight and loose for a subtle difference in texture.

* Gold mica powder for a subtle shimmer in the light.

What makes these limited: 10 will be made for sale

Special Limited Edition Lichen for your Wall 8 (6 in.)

Bowl - Pyrex Spring Blossom

Perfect for whipping up a batch of pancake batter for two, serve hummus family-style at lunch for dipping, or to macerate strawberries for strawberry shortcake!

Beeswax and Mummies

I've gotten back to work on my fine art. Recently, I did a little research on encaustic because in the past, I used strictly beeswax on my sculptures, but I found that a bit of damar resin helps the beeswax heat at a higher temperature (smoking point...it still smoked a bit...such a temperamental business), makes the medium stronger, and helps prevent the foggy film that develops on pure beeswax (I don't mind it, really). Unfortunately, I don't have a scale that measures such minute amounts, so I had to guesstimate the ratio of resin to beeswax. Still, I think that the results are quite good.

I also found some info on Fayum mummy portraits, which is a very interesting read (via). Gum arabic (a material I've experimented with in my fine art) was also used in mummification. Here's a bit more info on this substance (which is used in lithography...you know, I gotta throw in a printmaking reference).

Also, I mentioned that I picked up a Turkish Pot at a thrift store recently, you can learn how to make Turkish coffee here (via).