January 2021 - Covid photo a day project

 Hi everyone, I can hardly believe it is February already. Where has the first month of the year gone? I really didn't think back in March 2020 when I started this project that I would still be doing by Covid photo a day project, but as you know Covid is still alive and well and continuing spreading around the world, now with new strains, making it even harder to control. A friend recently lost her mother in Spain to Covid. It was so incredibly difficult for her not to be able to go to Spain to be with her mother and family. Her brother and niece are also infected, and another friends family in South America. My heart goes out to them, and to all those around the world who have lost loved ones. 

Here in Australia we have still continued to do very well, with people returning from overseas having to go into mandatory 14 day hotel quarantine, and mini total lockdowns when there has been community outbreaks. 

It has been 8 months since there was a community spread case in Western Australia, until this last weekend. As of 6pm Sunday we are now in total lockdown for 5 days, in an effort to contain the spread. I am hoping that it will only be 5 days. I cannot imagine what people in other places of the world have been going through in lockdown for weeks or months this past year. I think over the last 8 months we have become complacent, at least here in Western Australia. This lockdown will jolt us back to reality. Facemasks are now mandatory when outside. Another first for us. 

So here is my January photo a day project.....

1 January 2021 - Friday - Xylomelum pyriforme, commonly known as the woody pear

2 January 2021 - Saturday - our little birds are doing a good job of raising their second batch of young - just about ready to fly the nest

3 January 2021 - Sunday - my nephew enjoying nature play

4 January 2021 - Monday - my first attempt at making paper

5 January 2021 - Tuesday - out in the boat with young family members to see the dolphins in Koombana Bay. Some of them have calves and came right up to our boat. So beautiful.

6 January 2021 - Wednesday - another beautiful sunset along the Leschenault Inlet

5 January, 2021 - Tuesday - bonus shot - drying roses

7 January 2021 - Thursday - having fun being towed behind on boat on the new biscuit

8 January 2021 - Friday - drying lavender for my paper making experiments

9 January 2021 - Saturday - paper making with roses 

9 January 2021 - Saturday - bonus shot - Indian Ocean sunset at the basalt rocks in Bunbury

10 January 2021 - Sunday - Corymbia ficifolia, Red flowering gum

11 January 2021 - Monday - paper making experiments with statice flowers highlights. A lot to learn. 

12 January 2021 - Tuesday - golden kangaroo paws in my front garden

13 January 2021 - Wednesday - sometimes you just have to force your grandkids away from their computers and out into the fresh air

14 January 2021 - Thursday - another glorious Leshenault Inlet sunset

15 January 2021 - Friday - netting our grapes - birds not welcome!

16 January 2021 - Saturday - introduction to watercolour painting workshop with my sister at the Bunbury summer school at the Stirling Street Arts centre with Kellee Merritt. Excellent 2 days!

17 January 2021 - Sunday - mosaic at the Stirling Street Arts Centre.

18 January 2021 - Monday - Marri flowers along the Millers Creek walk

19 January 2021 - Tuesday - proud of my watercolour painting tutored during the Kelly Merritt watercolour class at Summer School at the Stirling Street Art Centre. It was a set piece so I won't take credit for the subject.

20 January 2021 - Wednesday - The Bunbury Art Gallery side door lit by my car lights after Spanish dance class. I rather liked the effect.

21 January 2021 - Thursday - summer at Koombana Bay, Bunbury

22 January 2021 - Friday - macro of chewed eucalypt leaf

23 January 2021 - Saturday  - South West Opera Company - Opera on the Move - for Fringe Festival in Stirling Gardens. A very enjoyable event. 

24 January 2021 - Sunday - drying more flowers

25 January 2021 - Monday - we bought a box of tomatoes in Donnybrook. Now we have to do something with them. Today Rod made tomato soup to put in the freezer for winter as a base for Minestrone.

26 January 2021 - Tuesday - Australia Day - and going out in the boat

26 January 2021 - Tuesday - bonus shot - Australia Day crab catch for lunch

27 January 2021 - Wednesday - very happy with my latest batch of botanical eco-printing on upcycled cotton

27 January 2021 - Wednesday - bonus shot - rather liked this moon resting on the power lines

28 January 2021 - Thursday - today I made Grape and tomato chutney

29 January 2021 - Friday - we were given a voucher for Corners on the Bay, so we went there for breakfast. Thanks Julie.

29 January 2021 - Friday - bonus shot - getting ready for Sol y Sombra's flash mob in the Fringe hub at the Stirling Street Arts Centre

30 January 2021 - Saturday - Forza dragon boat regatta match racing in the Leschenault Inlet on Saturday afternoon. I was in the on-water race control boat, so was able to snap some good pics. 

31 January 2021 - Sunday - unexpected emergency lockdown for Perth, Peel & South West for Covid from 6pm tonight. Masks are mandatory, so I started making some this afternoon.

That's January done and dusted. I hope you and yours are safe and doing well. Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

All Seasons
MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay LeafSharon's Sovenirs 

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

ThroughMy Lens 

Image-in-ing
My corner of the world through my camera 
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity. and Little bird - Pienilintu

Thankful Thursday 
Der-Natur-Thursday 

The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit
 Month end link up @ Live love craft me

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

Experimenting with Paper making

 Hi everyone, I hope you have had a good start to 2021, and that you and yours are safe and well. There has been some disturbing footage coming from around the world, and I feel very fortunate to be in my little relatively safe bubble here in the south west of Western Australia. 

I have started a new project. I think my husband despairs of me....always some new art project to explore. But he is very supportive and even bought me a "paper making kit" this year after I had it on my Christmas list for the second year. He managed to get it into the house without me knowing when the parcel deliver brought it. 

Now I don't profess to know anything about paper making. I have never even seen it demonstrated. So all I know is what I have gleaned from the Born in Paper website from where my husband bought the kit, and from a few little on-line videos. 

But I wanted to have a go, and that is what I have been doing most afternoons for the last week.  I have had mixed results, but I have enjoyed playing but gosh it has been hot on my patio. My husband did ask me the other day what I was going to do with the paper I had made. All I could reply was "don't ask me something I can't answer yet". 

The best place for you to learn is go to a workshop if you can. Born in Paper is located on the eastern side of Australia, a LONG way from me, so I need to find a workshop closer. Until then I just experiment and play. 

1. First you need paper. I have always kept paper in a box under my computer that has only been printed on one side. So this is a great place for me to start. If you work in an office I am sure there is a LOT of office waste paper. Also for one batch I used offcuts from my botanical eco-printing projects which uses printmakers art paper. 

Tear the paper up and pulp it all up in a blender with water. I bought a cheap one just for this. Don't use it for food after. 

2. You can add flowers or leaves to your mix. I've sun dried some rose petals. Only took a couple of days, but it is summer! 

3. You also need a Mould and Deckle. Put the pulp and extra water into a plastic tub. Mix it around so it is moving freely then "pull" your first sheet of paper with your mould and deckle. 

Below is a mould and deckle. It is like two picture frames the same size with a piece of wire on one piece.   The mould is a frame covered with metal or nylon mesh, and the deckle is the frame that sits on top of the mould. The paper is formed on the mould, and the deckle is used to create straight edges on the paper sheet.

There is a good video here to show you the process: Born in Paper on instagram

4. Transfer your paper mush on the mould and deckle face down onto the "couching" cloth. Also can be seen on video from Born in Paper on instagram

Press out some of the water with sponge, then take the mould away - this is the tricky bit! Put another piece of cloth on top and roll with a rolling pin. Turn over, take away the wet cloth, replace with another cloth, roll again. The firmer and more you roll the better the paper will be. 

Then transfer your paper to a board to dry. You can iron them flat when dry, and then put them under a stack of big books to flatten them more. 

Here you can see my first go - a bit of tearing going on. Could be the paper was a bit thin, but also because I had trouble peeling the paper from the wire of the mould. 

I've only started making paper this week, so honestly, I think you should ignore my "notes" and go to a proper paper making site like Born in Paper or Paper Slurry

 Here are a few of my papers from this week. I still have lots to learn Like how to get the wet paper off the screen without it tearing.... and how to get an even layer of slurry in the mould and deckle. Lots more to learn. 

Dry wildflowers and leaves added to the mix 

Dry statice flowers sprinkled on top of the wet paper and pressed in

The paper I made with scraps of printmakers paper previously eco-printed with eucalypt leaves. A few dry leaves were added to the blended when pulping the paper. This paper was thicker than the paper I made with the office paper. 

So there you have it. A newbies little look at paper making. 

I've borrowed the couple of action photos from Born in Paper on instagram

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.  

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

   
All Seasons 
MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf

Sharon's Sovenirs 

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

ThroughMy Lens 

Image-in-ing
My corner of the world through my camera 
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity.
Thankful Thursday 
Der-Natur-Thursday 

The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit
 Month end link up @ Live love craft me

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.