... on tin!

I received a big boost to the Beastie Tin Reserves a few days ago. To date, all of my Beasties have been made from tin that used to be on the top of our old chook-house. It was mostly painted pale green, with some red stripes on the edges - it had already been used a few times before it was built into the chookshed - who knows where? Anyway, this tin was lovely - only - I ran out. From the two full sheets I used to have, I now only have a few small Beastie-sized rectangles, which I'm hesitant to use as I know there's no more!

So, it was rather timely to hear news that C's mum had a friend, Lil, who knew I made stuff from tin, and had a few pieces in her garden she thought I might be able to use. Yes. OH yes!

When we picked them up from Lil, C just shook his head and laughed at how delighted I was over a stack of rusty painted tin. PERFECT. BEASTIE. TIN!

Red AND green paint! Rust! Oxidation! Flakiness! I tell you, it made my day, and I can feel a Beastie plague coming on!

... on light.

I've just learned a valuable lesson. Actually - I think I'd already learned this one, but forgotten it. I'm photographing a couple of new things for my Etsy store, and so, on autopilot, I pulled out this lamp I sometimes use that has a special photographic daylight bulb. I set everything up, turned on the lamp, took some shots, and then opened them up in Photoshop. I was pretty happy with them - until I tried to tweak the levels to get rid of the yellowish look to the white plaster seedpods.

No matter how much I fiddled I couldn't get it right - and the more I looked at it, the more purple the background seemed. What's more, none of the five photos I'd chosen for the listing looked like they belonged together - they all looked like they were taken on different days in different rooms under different lighting. Gah! I was so frustrated I had to walk away and go and play with the chooks for a bit.

When I'd calmed down, I tried again. I re-took all the photos, with no lamp. I opened up the blinds and doors, and just used the natural light - it's an overcast day here in Brisbane. What a difference!

A very moderate tweak to the levels and contrast, and already a much better result. All the pics look like they match. The pods aren't yellow. Thank goodness!

So - remember that, you. Just put that bloody lamp away and never use it again, will you!? Okay!

... on something in progress.

Here's something new, halfway done. Time to get out the Pinkysil, plasticene, plaster and paint.

Now if I can just figure out how to get what's on my thumb to go on the eggs, I'll be a very happy maker-of-things. I think it's a finely calibrated combo of 'stiffness of bristle', 'consistency of paint' and 'aim'. Will update you more soon. My house is a mess!