Odds and Ends

Most of the items I make have no particular use other than to give me the enjoyment of making them and to please the senses of others (mainly visual and tactile); though sometimes I make things which also have audio appeal, such as my 'rattle stones'.

Rattle Stones

These 'stones' have small clay beads wrapped in newspaper (to stop them sticking to the inside) inserted when I make them. When they are fired the newspaper burns off the beads, they then 'rattle' when shaken, each one making a different sound depending on the size of the 'stone' and beads.

Occassionally I will make something for a specific purpose in the house, such as this gravy boat.

At other times an item, which would appear to have no specific use, is employed; Ken (husband) took this spiral shell form into school to use as a pen/pencil holder.

 I have been trying in previous postings to categorise my work under appropriate headings. Today I am grouping together items which didn't fit under previous categories and did not warrant individual postings, hence the title 'Odds and Ends'.

On our last trip to New Zealand (Christmas 2010), I had fun looking around the craft shops in Taupo and picked up a few more ideas to use which resulted in the following pieces of work.

Crazy Daisy (1) Ceramic and wire (~70cm)

Butterfly plaque (~28cm)

Crazy Daisy (2) Ceramic, wire and bead (~70cm)

In this second version of 'Crazy Daisy' I softened the edges of the flowers and added beads to the wires.

I often collect pebbles when beach combing and have masses of them scattered around the house and garden. Last summer I looked for pebbles which were the right shape to paint as ladybirds ready to put on my stall at the Thrive Open Day in September 2011; they proved to be very popular and not just with the children!