a visit from a small heron

Monday in the late afternoon, I rounded the garage headed for the general vicinity of the ponds, turtle and water lily, that are adjacent but separated by the fence around the Little Back Yard, and startled a rather big bird. It flew into the tallow in the Little Back Yard where it stayed long enough to go fetch my camera and come back and take a few pics. Later, I looked up and noticed it was perched on the gate next to the turtle pond looking intently into the water.

It was a small heron and so after consulting the All Knowing Oracle I learned that it was a first year yellow crowned night heron. Cool.

It moved slowly towards the turtle pond and eventually got up the nerve to move to the edge of it from which position it continued to peer intently into the water.

It moved back and forth between the turtle pond and the water lily pond on the other side of the fence.

It found something to eat over there but I couldn't tell what though I don't think it got it from the small pond. They eat snails and things like that, small fish too and frogs. It drank from the water lily pond.

It returned to the gate and preened.

The next morning it was still here hanging out at the two ponds and eventually flew up into the tallow.

Later I noticed it had gone but it showed up again that evening. It was sitting on the clothesline pole just on the other side of the fence where I hung one of the oyster shell wind chimes that Jade and I made this summer. The wind chime was hanging askew so that the piece of driftwood was angled vertically. The heron would bend down and grab that driftwood with its beak and give it a good shake. Then it would intently watch the oyster shells clang around. It did that four or five times in a row and later Marc saw it doing the same thing.

After a while, it was gone and I haven't seen it since though I do sort of watch for it now around late afternoon.

it's like the Wild Kingdom out here y'all

Our resident praying mantis, which I have posted pictures of previously, attracted herself a mate.

She apparently got tired of his 'mansplaining' everything to her and took matters into her own hands. Or head into mouth as the case may be.

Later, she had herself a fine meal.

I'm expecting some egg laying before long. Her abdomen is getting quite large.

I couldn't get the third picture of her as she is no longer on the shrub where she has resided all summer so either I finally annoyed her enough or she has gone to lay her eggs. In any case, she is gone.

pursuits and illumination

I have a list of exhibitions on my marker board with the dates for submission. I decided that I would start again, submitting to juried exhibitions and publications (there is a book to be published of cast work). I don't know where I expect that to lead me. Recognition, at least among my peers, or rather reconnection. Gallery representation perhaps though I still am not very prolific with my work. The last several years have been pretty full with commission work for which I am grateful, so I don't know exactly what I want to get out of it.

With the deadline today for submission to a publication, New Glass Review, published every year by the Corning Museum, I selected three of the Botanicas and rephotographed them and I readied and submitted my entry yesterday. This is the first time in very many years that I have submitted to it but, what the hell.

I was supposed to start the full size art work for our last-one-on-the-books commission yesterday so that's what I'm doing today.

Also yesterday we finally put the new light fixture up. You might remember that I commissioned Carol Nickol to make me a light fixture like one she had in her home that I had seen when we visited one day of the residency last year. I received it a week or so ago and we finally got it up. It was going to go in the dining room but now I have the chandelier from the old city house. If I ever get it cleaned up, we will put it in the dining room. So now the new one hangs in the room where I spend most my time. No complaints about that.

Pretty cool, don't ya think? Now I think I need another, different, one to go on the other ceiling fixture in that room.

an exhibition and a selfie

We're leaving in a little while to drive into the city for the opening of the CraftTexas exhibition in which we have a piece, the wren box, one of only four glass pieces in the show of 49 works. Two glass pieces are by the same artist and are basically just solid blocks and the fourth is cast glass circles and steel. I submitted three pieces but they only chose the one of mine. They've already published the catalog on-line and you can see it here: CraftTexas 2014 

I've been working this week on another model and finished it today. Now I have only one more small one and the two big ones to do and I will be finished with this series. I say I'll be finished but I'm already thinking of doing some in clay that are thinner and simpler versions. We'll see. I've been wanting to get started on my 'river stories' work but I think I might put that off for another idea, 9 x 9.

The idea for 9 x 9 came to me while I was on vacation and photographing all those feathers on the beach. So now I'm thinking about nine sets of nine pieces. Maybe that's where the simpler botanicas will fit in.

A cool front finally made it down to us so now we are have some really nice weather. Cool in the mornings, 80s during the day. AC off, doors open.

It's Friday, selfie day, and I thought I would take my selfie at the show but then it wouldn't get posted til tomorrow so y'all are just going to get an unrelated pic of me with mostly wet hair cause it's time for me to get ready to go.

the youngsters

The juvenile cardinals are being endlessly entertaining. They are so timid and unsure. There are two males and at least one female. They have been sitting in the shrub next to the tea cup bird feeder for several weeks watching all the chickadees and the titmice and the adult cardinals come and go and they will look and sort of move around and almost get up the courage to flit to the teacup and then they will startle and fly away.

Finally, they have all managed to screw up their courage and come to the cup. But I have to be completely still even though I talk to them. The two males have not got their complete color in yet nor their red beaks and are looking a little mangy being all spotty red and brown. And both of them have met with something that left them fewer tail feathers. One is missing the tail feathers in the middle. He comes to the cup and he looks directly at me through the window trying to decide if I am a threat or not. The other male has most of his color but his tail feathers are missing or mangled on one side.

All three of them are very shy.

The pictures aren't great since I was having to be very sneaky and was using the zoom and the camera kept wanting to focus on the foliage.

fallish

I spent most of the day Saturday catching up on everyone's blogs. Good thing it was slow at the store. When I am model making I'm pretty single minded. Even when I stop for the day or take a break, my mind is still on the piece and process.

I'm feeling positively giddy that I have three new models, two from this recent effort and the one I managed to produce last fall before all the commission work kicked in. I've started a new model, still getting it set up for carving. Strike while the iron is hot, right? I sure would like to get these finished.

Speaking of fall, I guess the days have finally gotten short enough to trigger leaf fall in the trees. I've noticed the tallows and the gingkoes and the crepe myrtles are starting to drop their leaves. The pecans are still dropping some immature nuts though not nearly so many as before. I guess all the rain we have had on and off the last two weeks has helped. We might even have our first handful of mature nuts. I'm going to let these dry out a little before I crack a few.

In other signs that fall is eminent, the acorns are starting to fall as I hear them bouncing off the roof in the morning while I'm having my coffee.

And the oxblood lilies are springing up.

And the confederate rose suddenly has burst out in buds.

And the farmer is finally able, in between rainy days, to finish harvesting his cotton.

Other bits and pieces:

I'm thinking maybe I need to feed Big Mama a little more frequently. She's been acting aggressively towards the fish. Doesn't want them anywhere near when I am feeding her. She has been known to chase an offending goldfish that dares to steal a nibble from whatever I am feeding her, and don't kid yourself, she can distinguish between individual fish and she will chase that little fucker all over the pond until I can distract her with another bite. But the last several days, she has been chasing whatever hapless goldfish that happens to be next to her after every bite whether it is trying to get a taste or not.

Our daughter and son-in-law bought 5 acres of wooded land out here. Their property is 12 miles away so it's not like they are living next door again but I am so happy that they will be close by (now if the boy would follow suit, I'd be delirious). Their plan is to build a small cabin for a weekend getaway and maybe eventually retire out here. They have great plans for a big pond and natural habitat. In the meantime, Mike is spending his spare time out here clearing land, getting the proper permits etc for electricity, a well, and a septic system and building a storage building. The whole fam was out here today hoping to get the roof frame up on the storage building.

Life is good.

today's lesson and the selfie

I thought I would give a more complete explanation of how I do my wax work, or at least how I'm doing the models for the botanicas.

I start with a square of wax 4” x 4” x 1” thick made by pouring melted wax into a prepared form or mold.

First I select my image. I have a folder full of close up pictures of flowers that I collect. Once I pick my image, I convert the photograph into a line drawing.

Next I deconstruct the line drawing into layers...bottom layer being the parts of the image that are furthest away, next layer being the next most forward elements, the third layer the next most forward elements, and so forth. It averages about 4 layers.

Then I use a copy of the line drawing to cut out each layer out of a 1/8” sheet of wax. We make these by pouring melted wax on a hydrated plaster 'bat', a round or rectangular shaped slab of plaster about 1/2” thick. The wax won't stick to the hydrated plaster.

Once that is done, I stack the layers on the block and seal the edges together and the layers to the block using a rubber tipped or wood tool. Everywhere two pieces of wax come together, the join must be sealed or else plaster will flow into unwanted spaces later.

After all the layers are stacked and joined together, I have a rough, flat 3 dimensional form that is ready to be carved into it's final shape.

These are the tools I use to do that...small wire tools, large wire tools, metal carvers, and miscellaneous wood tools and rubber tipped tools.

I use them to carve away big amounts or shave away small amounts. Sometimes I add wax and reshape.

When I'm satisfied with the main carving, then I go back with my small wire tools and make small adjustments.

Sometimes, depending on the piece, I will go over the finished carving with 'scrubbie' after all the carving and cleaning up is done before I smooth it all out, which I have done here.

The last step is smoothing the wax. For this I use naptha, a solvent like lighter fluid. Using either my finger tips or a small piece of chamois or the rubber tipped tools, I try to go over the whole surface. Finally, I textured the stamens by stippling them with a small tool.

I kind of hurried on this one as I wanted to finish it today for the post but also because tomorrow I work at the antique store and I don't want it to linger. I'll go over it one more time as I can see a few areas that need attention but this one is done.

And so am I.