Where does the time go?

It's hard to believe it is nearly the end of 2021.  As we all know, Covid restrictions have made our lives very different, but staying safe is the most important thing we can do.

The restrictions have meant lots of home time and I have put this to good use.  A new collection is available now, Koi Ponds.

I have always been fascinated by Koi fish and the serenity of their environment.  The legend of Koi Fish even includes a dragon.

One legend tells us an ancient tale of a huge school of golden koi swimming upstream in the Yellow River in China.  Gaining strength by fighting against the current, the school glimmered as they swam together throughout the river.  When they reached a waterfall at the end of the river, many of the koi turned back, letting the flow of the river carry them away.  The remaining koi refused to give up.  Leaping from the depths of the river, they attempted to reach the top of the waterfall to no avail.  Their efforts caught the attention of local demons, who mocked their efforts and heightened the waterfall out of malice.  After a hundred years of jumping, one koi finally reached the top of the waterfall.  The gods recognized the koi for its perseverance and determination and turned it into a golden dragon, the image of power and strength.

Now I couldn't make koi ponds, as they are usually quite large to transport round to Art Shows, so I decided to make miniature ones.

Each of my ponds contains koi fish, lily pads and lilies, all cut from metal and hand painted.  There can be up to 8 layers of resin and each one holds fish and some lily pads.  It has been a very good learning experience with the resin.

For this one I added a hand made bonsai tree        
in the centre.

I was able to find some really interesting bowls for these ponds.

Of course, I couldn't leave it there, could I?  No, I wanted to find out just how small I could go with making a koi pond!!  Of course! - a pocket watch with the mechanism removed.

And, Yes, I am thinking about another way of presenting Koi Ponds.  

Stay Tuned and Stay Safe!

Practice Time!

When I awoke at 5 am this morning and looked out of the window, the sun was a bright red ball on the horizon.  I jumped out of bed, dressed, grabbed my new (second hand) camera and headed for the car.  By the time I reached the river (1 minute) the sun had risen into the clouds but the red/orange glow remained.  Time for some Photos.  Now I took all of these on "auto" as I haven't worked out all the fancy settings yet and on top of that, I forgot to pick up the tripod, so all photos taken hand held.

Chimney Island from the 1000 Islands Parkway

My first bird in flight - just right of centre

Chimney Island again about 30 minutes later.

I managed to find the one spot with the most bugs on the entire Parkway!!!  

Love the reflections in the water when it is so still.

View of the reflections from the sky in the water
from the village of Rockport.

St. Brendan's Church shares the same view.

Another reflection shot, but there are two swans out there.
Time for SUPERZOOM!

                                    

Just caught a quick shot of this deer on the way home.

That's all for now.  (Note to self:  remember to pick up tripod.)   Time for coffee.  Looking forward to more photography, so stay tuned.

Lea

Spring 2021

Yes, I am still creating, even though there are no shows to participate in at present.  But that is OK.

In the past I have enjoyed many different paper crafts and have quite a stash of paper supplies.  I decided to make some cards during my "staying home, staying safe" time and have enjoyed some of the new ideas I have seen.  The cards below are called "Pop and Twist".  As they open, the inner panel opens up and spreads out - love it!

The small pictures you can see in each of the four frames are Cigarette Cards.  These cards were popular in the early part of the 20th Century and came inserted in a packet of cigarettes.  People were encouraged to collect complete sets of different cards.

At the beginning of the 20th century, more cards were issued with cigarette brands than with any other product.  The cigarette card era came to a sudden end at the beginning of WWII, due to severe paper rationing.

Information on each card is written on the back and it can be extracted by pulling on the piece of ribbon at the top.

Here is a booklet you could buy for a penny to collect your cards.

Here is the inside of the Aircraft one we have.

For this card, I used my wildlife stamps and then lightly coloured them.  We have all four of these delightful creatures here in our garden.

Next I created a Hexagon Tower Pop Up - much bigger!!!  One box leads to another and then a number of levels lead upwards to a small gift box.  Each level contains areas to put photos, quotes, messages etc.  This one is blank at the moment.

Finally, just a little more alcohol ink work with some cut and pierced metal accents.  A lot of my pieces have stories around them and this one is no exception.  I will keep it brief, but it goes a little like this.

This planet in a far away universe is inhabited by dragons, but sadly the planet is dying and will be gone in only a few more years.  The dragons have been searching for a new home to support their kind, but with little success.  Until, one day four of the bravest dragons found themselves in a nebula, which led them to a wormhole, which led them to a whole new universe, with millions of new planets to explore.  But as I usually say  "Now you have to make up the rest of the story for yourselves".

Well, friends, that is about all for now.  I have just had a new idea for a new card!!!!

Stay safe, enjoy the warmer weather.

Thanks for your interest in my work.

With kind regards

Lea