Friday, November 19, 2010

Life's Canvass


Click to enlarge

My Egg collection is getting larger.
Some eggs are empty, some are boiled and some are fresh.
All painted in acrylic paints.

I can't believe what an excellent canvass these eggs really make
The egg in the center with the large face is not finished because the painting goes around the egg.
but she looks great from the front.
Now I still have to be extremely careful not to break them before spraying them with shellac.
Then they have to stand a year so the egg inside dries and then the eggs do not have to have a stand. They will be like punching men. You can push them down but they will pop upright again.
For the time being, I used childrens clay to stand them in. And it does dry and becomes hard but it's soft enough to take the shape of the egg to make a nice stand.

The empty eggs would make nice decorations for a tree but the full ones are great to display in a
dining room display case along with all the other dishes you may use on special occasions.
They are fun and easy to make.
To dry, I will put them away back into the egg container and forget about them for a year.
I don't have the old eggs I made, when I was a kid but my cousin still has the ones I sent her from 20 years back.
She says they are very fragile but she treasures them. I suggested she respray them so they continue to stay hard.

:)

Where do we get our sayings from?

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families
Used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken &
Sold to the tannery . . . If you had to do this to survive
You were "Piss Poor"

But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't
Even afford to buy a pot . . . They "didn't have a pot to
Piss in" & were the lowest of the low.

The next time you are washing your hands and complain
Because the water temperature isn't just how you like it,
Think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about
The 1500s:


Houses had thatched roofs - thick straw - piled high, with no
Wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get
Warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs)
Lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and
Sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof . . .
Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the
House. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs
And other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence,



A bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top
Afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into
Existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other
Than dirt. Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had
Slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet,
So they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their
Footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until,

When you opened the door, it would all start slipping
Outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way.
Hence: a thresh hold.

(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big
Kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit
The fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly
Vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the
Stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold
Overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew
Had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence
The rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas
Porridge in the pot nine days old. Sometimes they could
Obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When
Visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show
Off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home
The bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests
And would all sit around and chew the fat.

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high
Acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food,
Causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with
Tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were
Considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt
Bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests
Got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination
Would Sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days.
Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and
Prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen
Table for a couple of days and the family would gather
Around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake
Up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running
Out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins
And would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the
Grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins
Were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they
realized they had been burying people alive . . . So they would
tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the
coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.
Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night
(the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone
could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer.

And that's the truth . . . . Now, whoever said History was boring!!!

So . . . get out there and educate someone! ~~~ Share these
facts with a friend.












7 comments:

George said...

I'm very impressed with your painted eggs. They're very beautiful.
Thank you for the history lesson. I found it very interesting -- and entertaining.

A Lady's Life said...

Thanks George.
I don't know why I have this urge to work with eggs right now. I have a lot of other paintings to finish but this seems to be taking priority for some reason.
I think I am a little fearful they will break so want to make my 12 so they can be put away.
In the meantime the roast is baking for tonight so my day has begun lol

SandyCarlson said...

Your eggs are gorgeous. You are one talented lady.

Good luck with that snow!

A Lady's Life said...

I just finished another egg and it is very nice Sandy. :)
We had a few little flakes and it always threatens a lot of snow.Tonight they said 10 cm but we somehow usually get passed over.
It sure smells like snow now for the last few weeks.Other place further north got it but not us.
I put in a roast this morning on 350 and right now it is so succulent and falling apart.Have lots for gravy Guess I could make some mashed potatoes since I haven't for a long time.

Toyin O. said...

beautiful painted eggs.

Anonymous said...

It looks like you put a lot of time and effort into the creation of the eggs. They make a really nice collection. Keep painting.

Gattina said...

I don't paint eggs but pebbles ! I mostly change them into cats, lol !