Pod Vessel Display

I had a nice email today form Bead and Button to let me know that my vessels had arrived safely and that they liked the display I made. I was relieved that they had arrived! We went across the border to mail them on Monday, and of course were randomly computer selected for secondary inspection (yay, lucky us!). Fortunately at our border crossing the US customs workers are really civil and nice (unlike the scary land of Detroit), and I didn't have to unwrap everything, though they kept asking what kind of painting it was (?) Art piece always = painting I guess!

I went "shopping" on the beach on the weekend. Kyla and I hauled home a 14 foot weather bleached log becasue I loved the roots, but when I sawed the roots off I realized it was much too big and would dwarf the vessels. However, it will make a great display piece in the studio, and the rest of the log will be perfect for growing morning glories on.
The next day I went down again, with a huge screaming pink tote bag (actually, the tote bag was courtesy of Bead and Button!), and my saw, just in case. That log would have been more than I could have managed on my own! I filled my bag and one of the pieces turned out to be just right, with lots of crevices and character, I only had to saw off a small piece on the very bottom.

I had made some tiny pods to add to whatever piece of wood I ended up using, so it didn't take long to arrange it and anchor the posts in place. I used old mandrels as they are good and strong and very "old" looking. I'm so glad that they let me know it will be acceptable and not too big.