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"Happiness always looks small when you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and at once you learn how big and precious it is."
Maxim Gorky

Monday, October 5, 2015

The Find...

So I've had these lovely, antique wood spindles around for ages.
Technically called 'quills', they were used in the woolen mill/textile 
industry in big factories to organize threads on looms.
I've had a few inspirations on what to do with them
and then yesterday one of those ideas finally came to fruition...
Introducing... "The Find"
 These happy crows are making a big noise of today's find...
 I had these scissors in my button stash that I think were intended for scrap booking.
I believe they came from a little pack of buttons and such from the thrift shop.
I've aged them a bit to look like they've been around the cutting floor for eons...
So if any of you know anything about the Corvid family of birds,
you'll know that they love shiny things...hence the excitement!
Crows and Ravens are some of the most enduring birds.
Don't be fooled by their bad reputation.
Intelligent, loving, resourceful, dedicated family members and comical.
I'm not sure why they've been the subject of doom and gloom and bad omens
but in my books they are a joy to watch.
Definitely the bird of October aren't they?!
 I notched of the bottom edge of the spindle so it wouldn't roll around anymore.
The beaks are made from some outer teeth casings from a jaw I found on the beach...
...I painted them black and meticulously pieced them together before adhering 
them into the heads of the crows...
They worked into perfect crow beaks...
In photography, I find the two hardest colours to capture are red and black.
In practicing with different shutter speeds, apertures, etc, and some fine tuning
in the editing department I was able to get some fairly decent shots though.
So off they will fly...to a house on the river road...
...to a maker of lovely textiles and a lover of crows.




5 comments:

Jacquie said...

The beaks are perfect. Crow beaks they are. Goodness! Did you create an armature? They look wind blown, catching their breath and telling their stories.

Just bought some Shetland fiber to calm my nerves. Too much going on. Spinning is so soothing.

Unknown said...

Genius! I love how you made the base and the crows, giving them such personality! Wonderfully done!!

Acornmoon said...

I love them, very Edgar Allen Poe.

farmlady said...

What a lovely gift for a friend. I love these crows, each with a different personality and reaction to the shiny find. I can feel their excitement. A lovely piece, Kerry. You are so creative.

Cobalt Violet said...

LOVE these!!!!