Friday, December 7, 2018

December Seventh

It was the winter wild,
While the Heav'n-born Child,
All meanly wrapped in the rude manger lies;
Nature in awe to him
Had doffed her gaudy trim,
With her great Master so to sympathize;
It was no season then for her
To wanton with the Sun, her lusty paramour.
John Milton


Creative Juices:
Yesterday I started working on my gourds at last.
 
Only a few of the smallest ones are dry. One, I had broken the neck off of months ago, so he seemed a good guinea pig.

 I used a wood stain for the darker areas, and a permanent marker to draw the lines.
 Since the neck was open, I crushed some dry eucalyptus leaves and sprinkled them with essential oils.

 Then I cut a few rosemary sprigs and put them in the opening.
 I'll take it to the market on Saturday and see if any hippie type would like to buy it.
Then I started on a second gourd, this one with an intact neck.
 It had more dark mottling that reminds me of the night sky -- mysterious and beautiful -- and I didn't want to remove it. I did sand, clean, and wipe it. Then I painted it with watercolors (because that's really the only paints I have!) I really didn't think watercolors would work  on a gourd! But it dried ...
 And then I covered it with two layers of polyurethane.
I truly don't know what anyone would do with it, but I think it's cool-looking :) I don't want to obscure the painting with lots of yarn like the first one. Maybe a slender yarn "necklace" that would somehow allow it to be hung? I'll have to think on that.

3 comments:

Pom Pom said...

I like your gourds! I bet hippies and nonhippies will love them!

Granny Marigold said...

I wondered what you were planning to do with those gourds once they were dry. I think some 'hippie-type' will surely buy the one with Rosemary sprigs. Who could resist?

Kezzie said...

I think they look beautiful! I would display one!!