Buried Treasure

I am visiting Mum and Grandma in Bucks for a brief Easter holiday. Although the weather has been very changeable I have finally been able to open the fabric bundles I left here on my last visit back in February. Mum was quite concerned last week because she had noticed some of the pieces had gone mouldy, so she kindly put them in the freezer for me.

Once defrosted the bundles looked pretty revolting (and very smelly) but intriguing. Grandma was fascinated to see what they would look like when opened, so I opened them in the garden where she could watch.

I was rather disappointed with the results as there was very little printing from the oak and beech leaves. I suppose this is partly down to the fabrics being cotton and partly that the leaves had very little pigmentation to give up after lying around for several months. However the rust had certainly made it's mark and there were some fabulous patterns emerging from the metal objects.

 

Later this afternoon I helped Mum move lots of rubbish in the garden that had been left by the previous owners. Amongst lots of very slimy, stinking garden waste and rubbish I found a massive old slimy dust sheet that had been left in a heap in a rubble sack with lots of rotting plant waste. As I spread it out on the drive I could see it had wonderful patterns on it - much better than my intentional eco-print bundles. It was great to find this buried 'treasure', and so funny that the unintentional things often turn out be the nice surprises.

Mum helped me construct a massive washing line in the garden and it is now hanging up to wash in the rain and air in the wind. I will take some better photos when we have managed to get it dry.