Making a lamp

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I did the jar late last night, 3am. Couldn’t easily paint inside so got some silver foil and cut our shapes. Fastened it on with loads of sellotape. Then I painted over it with abstract patterns. I painted the top too and then used a bit of matt varnish on it to hold it together a bit more. Finally I twisted some wire to hold a tea light, so I didn’t have to try and light it in the bottom of the jar.

I can use it in our summerhouse. The silver foil was a bit chunky because I was worried it would rip when I unfolded the cut out. The pattern I’m calling ‘graffiti’ , cos it looks a bit like the spray painting you get along the canal on the way to Etruria.

This was an idea for a weekly project we are doing in our Etruria Artists group.

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Evidence

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Evidence of a BIG mouse.

So in these self isolating, lockdown times. My hubby decided to open the ‘Christmas cake in a ring pull tin’.

It was there as a treat for some time in the future. But as things are, OK why not? I’m not allowed to eat much sweet stuff but I thought I could have a small sample.

Anyway, after ten minutes of trying to open the tin, he got the can opener on it as the ring pull didn’t ‘pull’. He managed to cut round the base (thats where the ring pull is).

Another struggle, there was a thin strip of metal sticking up. So I got the key off a can of corned beef, and after much fiddling got the cover off the cake. Then I put a plate on top and tipped the tin over to release the cake.

There it was, surrounded by nice white, pleated, grease proof paper.

Hubby got a knife and cut himself a quarter. Then, he started picking loose bits of fruit off the rest of the cake! He stuck his fingers in his mouth each time and licked his index finger as he picked up another crumb!

I was upset! I told him there was no way I could eat any of it now. The only way I could have any would be to slice off the top and bottom and sides to leave a small bit from the inside.

I did threaten to do this but as the only gloves I have are the gardening ones that I was using today to cut back roses and Ivy, I decided that would not be a good idea.

I put the cake in the fridge. Ten minutes later when I went to get some milk for a coffee? Well you can see…. A BIG mouse had been at it!

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Wardrobe

IMG_20200408_121700_416Welcome to my messy house.

Drawing coats hung up on our wardrobe which is in the living room because it’s too big to get up the stairs.

The coats are mainly black jackets. I’m thinking of selling the wardrobe, but it’s full of ‘stuff’ so I will have to empty it. Train sets, a patio umbrella, badminton rackets, a hockey stick…. Things, you know, life!

Anyway this is our 21st days drawing challenge with USK Stoke-on-Trent. Every day is different.

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Using up sprouts

I had a bag of sprouts in the fridge, they needed using up. What to do? I took a mixture of leftovers and cooked something ‘not bad but interesting’ according to my hubby.

First I used up half a small onion. I chopped it up and cooked it in a small amount of butter and olive oil. I added some garlic granuals, dried chives, and dried basil.

I then added sprouts that I had cut the base off, took off the outer leaves and then cut them into quarters. I added some water to the mixture up to the level of the sprouts in the pan and let it gently simmer.

I cut up two large tomatoes that were getting wrinkly and were just past their best before date.

I carried on simmering it to soften the vegetables.

While I was doing this I put on a small amount of penne pasta in some boiling water. I cooked that until it was Al dente (still slightly firm)

As the sprouts were softening I added half a jar of tomato pasta sauce that I’d saved from last night.

If you want to leave it there you can. That would be a vegetarian option. But I had some mini frankfurters to use up, so I cut them into small pieces and added them to the mix. Once they had heated through I tasted the food. It was quite ‘sprouty’ so I took a small piece of cheddar cheese, about a thumb sized piece for each of us and melted it into the mixture. I added a little salt to taste and then drained the pasta and added it to the mix.

Cooking time, about twenty minutes in total.

Don’t know the cost, but not much.

Ingredients

Half a small onion.                              About two big handfuls of sprouts.    Two large tomatoes.                              Half a jar of tomato pasta sauce.              A handful of mini frankfurters.               A small amount of mild cheddar cheese.                                                           A couple of handfuls of pasta.

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Citrus plants

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My hubby has bought some citrus plants and has them in pots in the garden. They came with the fruit on them. He took them inside the summerhouse for a couple of nights but he’s trying to let them harden off. One was a kumquat, whatever that is. I sort of think they were ornamental, but they say they are edible…. He just eats them whole! Anyone know what these are?

Anyway I might chop one up and add it to a gin and tonic!

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Garden pictures

Oh its coming on…. I’ve been cutting back a few bushes and tidying up. The summer house is full of junk so it needs clearing out. I’m keen to go out there and paint. The weather has been lovely, we’ve not really had any April showers yet. I guess they will be in the way.

Oh I ache from trying to cut back overgrown buddlias and ivy climbing up the cherry trees. When the cherry blossom is out I will try and share photos.

By the way the cat is Woody, he’s the outside cat we look after. He’s really enjoying lying in the sun now the weather has improved. But we have tomato plants, so I’m scared he will squash them!

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Today it’s a selfie drawing.

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Wow, I look quite sad in this drawing, but I’m not. It is just my face falls into a slight frown whan I’m concentrating.

Faults with this, my eyes are probably a bit to far apart? Looking at my phone to do this. It’s not the same as looking in a mirror. The image is quite small and the screen kept switching off. The background is a more than thirty year old painting I did at our previous house.

This was today’s challenge for the urban sketchers group in Stoke-on-Trent. Day twenty. Hanging in there.

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Today in the garden

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I drew this today, sitting in the garden, looking at a jumble of narcissi and other plants ( I’m not sure of their names).

Another of the USK Stoke thirty day challenge. I’m really enjoying this series of sketches. Every day a different way of stretching our practice. So many different sketches by different artists. I hope you like this.

Finding the sun…

That’s what my cat does. He lies in the sun and keeps himself warm, and hides his head under his paw (an idea from the poem about a robin). Apparently cats sleep about 16 hours a day, but usually somewhere quiet where I can’t easily find them. But this morning, there he was in a Ray of bright sunshine. I had to reduce the exposure because it was so bright I was losing details.

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Day 18,urban sketchers challenge

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This one is ‘hanging on the wall’ as you can see I’ve got a lot of stuff on the mantelpiece and on the wall. I haven’t drawn the dust! I don’t move stuff around much. I think it would all fall off if I did. I’ve also missed out the crack in the chimney breast.

I’m really enjoying this 30day challenge and hope we continue to do more once this month if work is over. It’s interesting having prompts. I might not like some if them, but it gives me ideas for things to sketch. And also the opportunity to translate them into what fits in around my life.

I’ve reconnected with drawing more over the last couple of weeks than I had done for years. My only sadness is that my eyes are not as acute as they were. I have presbyopia, which means the lens in your eyes doesn’t change shape as well, so it’s harder to focus in on close stuff. I have reading glasses, but when I want to look close, then at distance it’s a bit annoying. Anyway I just peer over the top of my glasses. Plus my lines are wobbly.. But you can’t have everything. It’s just a sketch xxx