I've been experimenting with a different pallette and brush for several weeks now and it's kept me away from the computer...so I decided I'd better do some catching up on this blog. The new pallette is wave tumbled beach rocks that I've been gathering over the last 20 years or so. I started putting them together with concrete and mortar and making things like stepping stones for the garden and trivots to put hot dishes on. Yesterday I finished my first (semi)successful birdbath complete with base. I have had quite a few failures during this learning process. probably close to one third of all projects so far have been broken for one reason or another...mostly because of my lack of experience with the materials, but also due to a character defect called "impatience". Every time I think I've learned the lessons well enough Great Spirit shows me another angle on all the different ways I can mess it up. At this point I feel extremely grateful for all the successes I have had.