Fish going mobile

This morning we heard what we hope were the last flocks of Geese flying south for the winter  Most of the rivers are frozen here and there's not one bit of ground that isn't covered with white stuff, so those geese who slept in over the weekend are going to have some rough weather ahead on their big flight.  We had a big dump of snow Saturday and Sunday, and it required four hours of shovelling to get the driveways, walkways and Molly's Happy Trail paths cleared.  Of course that shovelling wasn't all at one time; we prefer to do it gradually and not wear ourselves out. 

On the polymer clay front, I have been making a lot of fish...some for gifts, some as decorations, and some larger ones for galleries.  This one is a three part mobile with some fish not swimming in the same direction as his/her buddy fish...but when the mobile turns sometimes they all swim in the same direction.  It's not unlike the geese who take turns being the leader.  I had to lay the mobile flat so that all the fish could be seen because any slight breeze really makes them turn every which way. 

I've also been busy this weekend getting ready for a couple more shows and working on commissions.  I made a bunch of 'headdress canes' (my name for them as there really isn't a name...it's my own creation) in several different colours so that I could make some buttons, bracelets, pendants and a few other accent pieces from it.  I worked on a blue one, a green one, a purple-alizarin one and a darker one. I had to substitute some colours as my clay reserves are dwindling. I hope the colours work well when the items are baked.  They look good in the raw state of the cane and I hope they don't turn too dark.

Just before the big snow on Saturday, I tried to stock up on clay that was on sale, but sadly most of the colours that I needed were all sold out.  It never fails.  When I need clay, it seems so does everyone else.  Whose law is that?  Paula Merkeley's?

Speaking of substituting, I will be busy the rest of this week teaching middle school...filling in for a gal who is going to a conference in the south, probably near where the rest of the Canadian Geese are headed. Hope they enjoy the sun and absence of snow...if they miss it, I know where they can get some.