Showing posts with label shells. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shells. Show all posts

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Worm Tube Exoskeletons and a Mexican Vacay


                         
A family getaway and a road trip to the Sea of Cortez yielded some exciting goodies.
It took me quite a bit of google magic to find out what these things are.
Marine worm tube exoskeletons! Nicely bleached and so inviting with the requisite hole from end to end for beading and designing.

Maybe great for the year of the snake don't you think?
If you order from me in the next few weeks I'll include a couple in your order if you wish.

An experimental piece for the year of the snake

I just got some vladthebatsattic goodness in a trade which I think  nicely paired up with a rustic horseshoe component from the desert museum on our other trip to New Mexico.

Our view of  the island of Alcatraz at Bahia Kino on the Sea of Cortez

So nice to be able to spend some good times with my son.

The sons came up with some good beach pyrotechnics by burning steel wool attached to a metal cable



Some great sunset lighting to illuminate the plethora of shells on the beach.

El Cactuse

The guys were coerced into buying some fresh fish on the beach even though our kitchen was limited.
We happened to have some nice big shells handy!



They went mad for collecting shells...what an amazing beach for shelling.
I kept my collection to a minimum since it tends to get out of hand.

They artfully arranged their haul on the patio

We went for a drive and spotted this interesting altar


On our way there we stopped at Rancho Penasco  at Magdalena de Kino
 that I mentioned in this blog post.
Those of you that have followed my blog for awhile may or may not have noticed that I'm not a huge animal or pet person but every once in awhile there's an animal that tugs at my heart strings.
I noticed this little baby goat at the ranch amongst all of the others that was standing alone in the most peculiar pose and not moving for long periods of time. It looked so frail and odd in its stance.
I remarked to the owner and he said she had been rejected by the mother and was obviously not getting enough nourishment. I ended up carrying that little goat around for the rest of the day. ( I didn't realize till the next morning when I was told it was actually a kind of hairless sheep.)

We ended up bottle feeding it which is quite an undertaking for a busy rancher round the clock.
We brought it in for the night and put it next to the heater in the hostel. It probably wouldn't have survived the cold night with the others.
This dog adopted her as well and licked her all over especially when it had some fresh milk on its muzzle.
The next morning when the sun had warmed the pen we released her back to the throng. She perked right up and sprinted off excitedly to be with the others. We had to leave shortly after and I don't know if she ended up surviving but we were certainly hopeful.

I am now alone for the first time in over a month of road trips and visitors...feel kind of funny!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Inspired by Shells

The actual shells that inspired me. I picked them up at Bahia Kino Mexico recently.





Lampwork Glass Beads made at a torch.




They'll probably be used in a design something like this.




I was worried that the bead in the foreground looked a bit too much like chewed gum
but now I think I was being too critical.







Mussel shell lampwork beads made into bracelets with aquamarine chips and freshwater pearls




This is actually two bracelets end to end.



I gave them a matte finish with an etching solution.



Still working on my photography.



One of my goals for my remaining time in Arizona before I head back to the great northland is my project for a little shop in Seal Harbor, Maine called The Naturalist's Notebook.
The focus of the shop is the relation between nature and art and science and it's not just an art gallery but more of a learning center. These pieces are part of my works that I hope to be displaying there this coming summer.