bird in the hand

Last year our plucky heroine was commissioned to make a pendant based on an ancient Greek coin... and, as happens on occasion, there is another person who, on seeing pictures of the first owl pendant, asked if another one could be made as a special gift for their spouse this Friday. It isn't my holiday, but I delight in turning folks ideas into reality... Since an exact copy would be inappropriate, leaving off the lettering and reversing the colors of the image gave an equally graphic result, and as always, the wonderful French Soyer enamels made by Cristallerie de Saint Paul are a delight to work with.

Somehow the words "a bird in the hand" came to mind, and this image shows rather the scale of the pendant; the actual enamel is approximately 1 1/4" in diameter, and set in a very simple silver setting.

:::

The setting is marked on the reverse with my makers mark (here much enlarged) a horse courant regardant, surmounted with a crown. The design is the primary charge from my heraldry, to signify moving forward without losing sight of the past. The actual horse stamp is only 4mm x 5mm (about half the size of my pinkie fingernail), and the detailing is pretty amazing given the size. The horse stamp was cut for me by my dear and dearly missed late friend Ian Cnulle.

a thin thin shell

in which our plucky heroine succumbs to cabin fever and goes for a walk...

Despite not only our rubbish weather but also feeling most under it, and sleeping on and off for several days, which is most suspiciously my body fending off some nasty germ or another, the temptation to just get out of the house for just a little bit was irresistible. Bundled up in layers, and with my winter boots chained up, girl tucked camera in pocket and set out around a few blocks, carefully; thinking to self "shiny side up rubber side down"...

Round here we have not had quite the intense ice and snow as media would suggest, but it is definitely a presence:

A few bits of dead grass in the side yard,
thin as threads but covered with a delicate candy coat of ice


the remains of last autumn's rose hips,
in silouhette against the grey clouded sky


The tattered skeleton umbels of Queen Anne's Lace
seem all decorated with icy gems

moar snow

in which our plucky heroine counts her blessings...baking gingerbread, simmering soup, sitting and sketching.... not bad for a snow day!

This very special stone carving was a gift to Acorn Cottage
from my dear friend and awesome artist Bill Dawson,
who has more skills than pretty much anyone I know...