Learning paper cutting

Partly cut cat…..today’s craft skill held at B Arts in Stoke, was learning to use a craft knife to cut out our own designs. I’d almost finished this before the break. I’ve bought the sheet of paper home so I can complete this and three others, one is a sunset, then something based on a green man and the fourth is a horse. I will try and finish them off today.

Blue green algae

It looks like pea soup. The green in this pond is caused by algae I think. This is also in the local lakes. Some of them have pumps that are being used to try and get some oxygen into the water. Days are cooler and greyer, so I hope the water will clear.

This photo was taken yesterday at the Dorothy Clive Garden out in the countryside. Still looking good and it’s almost the end of August.

Art workshops

Today I went to some art workshops and learned a bit more about drama, mask making, puppetry, animation and making dioramas. From nine till five. The final section was to create boxes and make tiny landscapes inside them. Mine and a fellow artist created a swimming pool party, with a pool with gold edging, and columns. Lilos, deck chairs and cocktail umbrellas as sun parasols. We even added a jacuzzi!

Scarecrow prompt

#bandofsketchers prompt for Sunday. My hubby posed as a Scarecrow for me while we were at Trentham Gardens yesterday.  I pretended his hands were straw. Its hard to do a drawing of a Scarecrow if you don’t see them very often, but I think this gives the general idea of how they look. I think they are meant to scare away rooks and crows that might eat a crop in field. The idea is that the birds think there is a human in the field, especially if the clothes it wears are old and ragged and flap in the breeze. If you want to read or see stories about scarecrows look up Worzel Gummage who was a character in a TV series in the 1970’s.

Black swan

Black Swan seen today. My hubby went up to it and stroked the back of its neck! I’m surprised he didn’t get pecked!

I heard that these birds were introduced from abroad. Perhaps Australia? They are mostly all black with red beaks, although there are slight amounts of white in places on them. They are slightly smaller in stature than the normal swans we see. Mute or Hooper Swans? I’m not sure if they can interbreed.

I’m sad that I didn’t get a better photo.

Train models

The wonderful world of model trains. Where anything goes that’s in the modellers minds and ideas. We saw about ten model layouts, plus stalls with all sorts of train sizes and types for sale. Also station buildings, tracks, car models, people, ambulances, lorries, fire engines. Bridges, tunnels, trucks, lights, all sorts of things. If you’ve never been to one its worth a look.