Port Dickson

We drove down to Port Dickson last weekend - it's only an hour's drive.  We stayed at a hotel by this lovely long beach!

 

Hotel balconies made an interesting shot!

Enjoyed beachcombing.

 

Love this purple seaweed!

Poolside for over 18's - nice and quiet!  Playing with my camera - focusing on the oranges and reds.

Lovely gardens

 Palm trees laden with coconuts.

Focusing on the yellow of the coconuts,  fading the other colours.

 

Tropical pretties.

We walked up a really steep hill to reach Cape Rachado Lighthouse.

 The view from the top.

 Some of the lovely Trochus shells I found.

A gorgeous sunset at the end of the day - perfect view with a glass of wine in hand!  Have a good weekend!

Macro and Magpie tendancies

 

Magpie ©Caroline Soer 2011
Charcoal and chalk on pastel paper

I love to collect and I've been cacheing stuff like a Magpie since I was little!  I remember now the pleasure of pocketing treasures such as discarded feathers, fallen acorns, hazel and horse chestnuts, or tufts of sheepswool and moss to take to school to display on the nature table in the classroom!

I also love using the macro setting on my camera! I am fascinated by the insects' view of the world and love to capture nature close up at every opportunity. I am always the one lagging behind taking photos on a country walk and if I'm not clicking (and the subject is for the taking), I'll be picking it up, turning it over in my hands to examine it and frequently popping it into the rucksack to study, photograph, paint or display later.

I find seedpods fascinating! They come in all different shapes and sizes - the slender ones in the picture above are over 50 cms long!   I like to see what's stored within.

Lotus 

  Poppies - I love the different colours they take on when dried.

The cone above is from a Malaysian rain forest tree - not sure which - but its interesting shape warranted it being dried off and carried home for further inspection and display



 in a lovely dish handmade by husband Jan, from Selangor pewter, at the School of Hard Knocks in KL!  This is something I have yet to try!

and this is a close up of the giant Spanish fir cone in the pic below.

I had gathered several on holiday in Spain, but sadly could only fit this one in the suitcase to take home!

I found this abandoned, intricately woven nest hanging in a tree in the garden.

I keep boxes and display bowls full of my finds on the shelves in the studio. The triangular dishes above are ideal for holding delicate wings and little beach treasures - they're made locally from slices of coconut.


 

 


 I love the patina of this little Indian copper dish that holds various treasures like an incredibly fragile skeletonised leaf and little blue birds' egg.  I found the egg floating in the swimming pool one day - perhaps tossed out of the nest and transported on a gust of wind!

  Exotic shells, many collected on beaches in Oman - I was delighted to find a small  Venus Comb Murex with all most of its spines intact!

Pheasant finery

Irridecence - peacock feather and my Thai silk dress!

The blue feather in the last pic is a Magpie's, I believe.

Do you have any Magpie tendancies? 
What do you collect?

Week word - Charm

This Weekword is 'charm', chosen by the charming Linda Sue . I'm showing a few charm bracelets that I made a while back. Charms are pendants or trinkets which may be just decorative but can also often signify important things in the wearer's life.

Strawberry Smoothie

Here's a girly creation for Valentine's Day - I combined pretty pink and strawberry coloured handmade lampwork (glass) with Swarovski crystals, silver beads and a Karen (Thai hill tribe) silver heart charm to make up this sweet bracelet.


Deep Ocean

The ocean is always a favourite theme. This bracelet has beautiful turquoise and cerulean blue lampwork beads with Bali silver, Swarovski crystal and Karen silver shells and starfish charms.

Dragonfly

I favour the colour green - I wear it a lot, use it in furnishings in my home and of course love my tropical green garden here in KL!

For this full, jangly bracelet I used various green and white pearls, lampwork with semi precious stones, crystal and silver. I added a Karen silver dragonfly and little bell charms.

I think dragonflies are charming creatures and love to feature them in my artwork. In many places in Europe folklore paints them as rather sinister creatures associated with evil and injury, but in East Asia they seem to have a far better reputation and are considered symbols of courage, strength and happiness. Well, wherever you hail from or whichever way you choose to think of them, dragonflies are undeniably beautiful.

To view more Weekword 'charms' please visit Linda Sue's delightful blog, All I Ever Wanted, where you'll find a full list of participants and discover who will be nominated to choose the next Weekword!

Have a great weekend!