Canvas to the Imagination

Before I had a bird of my own I had no interest at all in winged creatures. I may have even thought they were boring. Then my sister brought home a breeding pair of lovebirds, and soon I had a cheeky little bird of my own, one I’d raised from an egg. Many years and one lovebird later, I am fascinated by birds of all kinds and am capable of watching them for hours on end (dorky, but true).

My apartment is a great spot for watching small birds like sparrows, chickadees, and dark-eyed Junco, and I’m amazed how these tiny things can survive just fine in cold weather. I think they look warmer out there than I do in my many layers… I’m a bit worried about them not finding enough food with all this snow so I decided to purchase seed for them and put it along my window sills. They are very entertaining as they help themselves to food and bob up and down to keep an eye on me through the window.

The Field Guide: Birds of British Columbia group on flickr for plenty more bird photos.

I love this piece. It actually started out as a test to see how a particular Japanese paper (I don’t know the name of) looked layered over the gel medium transfer I’d done of one of my tree photos on wood. I did a test of each colour of paper – green, blue, and an off-white – and suddenly it was becoming a composition rather than just a “test piece” for collaging techniques. The leaf skeleton, splashes of watercolour, bird stamp, and coating of gel medium were further additions to make it complete.

On another note, I’ve been having doubts about making Christmas presents versus buying them. My thoughts are whether handmade presents are less valuable, or maybe less valued, than something store bought, and is it cheaping out to do things myself. I know this isn’t true, and I love it when friends gift me items made with their own hands, but not everyone appreciates a handmade item. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

It is Sunday afternoon and I’ve decided to take a break from the frenzy of Christmas baking I’ve been up to for the last few hours. I haven’t done baking for Christmas in a few years and I am trying all new recipes. I started with a batch of candied orange peels, then onto chocolate almond bark, with a finale of chocolate truffles. I am waiting for each batch of yummies to cool and set, but otherwise I am done. Overall these were really easy things to make though the citrus peels were the most labour intensive, requiring multiple reboils in hot water to soften and remove the pith. I may do a second batch of these and do a better job with pith removal because they make the taste more sour than sweet.

Good Things from the Weekend:
1. Getting set up with a new cell phone (and plan) that is about one thousand times more advanced than the one I’ve had for almost five years.
2. Baking chocolate chip banana bread
3. Making and sharing Saturday brunch with friends
4. Having a recovered Boris back to the land of the living
5. Getting out for a walk on a rainy but lovely Friday night