Shrimp and Fish!

The Bayou was the scene of a wild, windy and rainy day! I ventured down to the pier early this morning between showers. The wind was stirring up the Bay something fierce and I could see the rain coming! A hasty retreat back to the house was necessary for fear that my camera would be soaked! No sunrise pictures again today!

Several gourds needed to be painted for a friend so that was the plan for the day! The gourd with the painted shrimp that I finished the other day was a tad small for the order so I had to begin again. I pulled the largest gourd I could find and set to work. This time, the shrimp seemed relatively easy to paint..I guess the old saying of "practice makes perfect" is true..although, I still need a ton of practice to ever "perfect" my art. The gourd was painted in record time!...but was it finished?? It appeared to lack something. I played around for the rest of the day just trying to "dress up" this gourd. Finally, I decided to "sew" a piece of netting to the top of the gourd to see if that would help at all. This was easier said than done! First off, the gourd was a mite slippery since I had put a nice coat of wax on it to seal the paint. This was not making it particularly easy to attach a net! The gourd would slip to one side and the net would simply slide off. I tried gathering the net around the gourd and the goofy thing shot out of my hand like it was in a slingshot! It careened off the table and hit the floor..uhoh this could be trouble! I gingerly picked up the gourd and inspected it for cracks..nope! Not a one! Whew! I must be a tad more careful! The next stumbling block came in the form of stretchy netting! I was using a piece of an old castnet but for some reason it felt more like elastic! It would stretch almost double its original length! Every time I would position it on the gourd, it would look right on one side but the other side would look one of those Shar Pei dogs with all of its wrinkles! I pulled..I tugged..I trimmed and I whip-stitched the net to the top of the gourd and called it finished! My "shrimp gourd" can be delivered after which I will breathe a sigh of relief!

While working on the gourd, I was sitting at a table that I had painted for my husband several years ago. It turned out to be one of my favorite pieces that I have ever painted. Perhaps because it was for him or perhaps it was the subject matter of the piece. I painted a picture of a redfish on the table top since this is one of his favorite fish to catch. He loved his table and uses it almost daily as a "laptop" table! But today..I noticed a problem! There is a large crack that has developed right down the middle of the table! I believe it was caused by the heat of his computer. Hopefully, I will be able to repair the crack and give the table a another chance at survival! This is its second life as it was donated to me by the flood waters of Katrina. Ha..from debris pile to "treasured family heirloom"! Or after I am gone..back to a debris pile! Who knows?? Anyway..on tomorrow's to-do list..repair a table!