Signs.

Dad was a sign writer and I think this is where I got the love of writing labels and categorizing stuff. I have just finished these signs for the swimming pool changing sheds at Woodleigh School. I would have liked to make the figures in 'quirky' togs but it didn't seem right for a primary school !

Broody bantam chooks.

They really are a law unto themselves! Moody and aggressive.  They go 'broody' for no apparent reason, even if there are no eggs! Both these girls sat on eggs. Out of 15 eggs we got ONE live off-spring. The girl at the back 'lost the plot' after 20 or so days on the nest. The hens kept arguing over the eggs and rolling them back and forth to try and be the 'queen' chook with all the eggs. It goes without saying that quite a few didn't survive that level of fussing about. Then the chook at the back kept thinking her hatched babies were eggs. She ended up smothering them to death. The front girl turned out to be a great mother BUT she didn't know the eggs we put under her were Orpington eggs from another hen! Orpington hens are massive...so at 6 weeks this 'chicken' is now bigger than 'mummy' bantam and is bullying the mother.I will have to separate them soon. Oh what tangled webs we weave when at first we try to deceive!

The busy little men!

When we were in Raglan over summer I discovered the most amazing place. The community recycling center. Now, you would think that being into recycling/'upcycling' that I would have discovered this sometime before now, in my 20 or so years of going to Raglan for summer....well no.  I happened upon the place when passing on my way to Summer school at Susan Flight's place on Mount Karori. It is AMAZING.  All community rubbish is collected and sorted and labelled. (My family can tell you how much I am into labels on stuff.) The shop had an amazing collection of useful stuff! My car was already filled to the max with camping paraphernalia. But I managed to squeeze other treasures in. Like a World War 2, canvas camp stretcher. Man, I bet that could tell some stories. That sort of sums up why I collect stuff. I love speculating about the stories that objects carry. Anyway I got two garden gnomes..they had no paint on anymore and looked completely worn out and 'over' being garden gnomes! It has been fun to repaint them and bring them back to their 'glory' days.  Now on the doorstep, I look at them and they bring me joy.

Trays

Not a lot to say about these. The pictures say it all. I have been having a bit of fun with old trays from the hospice shop. The top tray has a collage of enlarged photocopies of old stamps. The bottom tray has a collage of circles cut out of Retro wall papers I found down in the studio.