Winter dreaming

It's seven AM. The woodstove has been started and is crackling. Warmth is spreading through the room.The sun has reached the tops of the mountains in the west,(the Adirondacks) and has turned them pink. Gradually the pink highlights spread to more peaks and then a distant high field facing east. Layers of fields are revealed in the morning light. Dark evergreen strips divide fields and are highlighted
as the sun eases higher in the sky.
We have had so little snow that the general tone is a light brown instead of the usual blast of brilliant winter white.Then the sun stretches out and the fields turn golden inspiring more themes for my batik. It is a wonderful February day!
I will be leaving to go feed and clean my cow, Steppin-Up and her heifer, Footstep. How pleasant the barn is.The animals will be anticipating their feed and a friendly scratch. There will be the contented sounds of them eating hay and grain and the sweet smell of hay and shavings.
I will be working on painting wax on more batik this morning upstairs in my studio. it is winter so I use mostly beeswax mixed with a little parafin. Parafin wax crackles too easily in cold weather, which can over crackle the design on the batik. Beeswax is softer and much easier to use in winter. To me it is the queen of waxes and also less harmful to inhale. Waxing should always be done with good ventilation and I have an exhaust fan in the studio which has improved things tremendously.

Inventory waiting for Spring

Catch up

Well lately it feels like I am just doing catch up work on the batik pieces that have been in progress around the studio. I have done some dying on the warmer February days. And waxing on some of the colder days. Of course, I appreciate that we didn't get all of the snow that went south!

So now I have a good number that need to be ironed. Maybe I can attack that during the next snowstorm when I am trapped inside. But then again, after snow storms, I like to go out snowshoeing, so maybe not!