Dying for Spring

It's Saturday, and I just couldn't face another day at the computer, so I decided to make a few Easter eggs. Usually I use the Ukranian method but I don't have any of the concentrated dyes right now; when we moved I rinsed out all my bottles of dye and need to order more, but...I forgot! No white eggs either - just brown ones. I've got my wax and kiskas (a metal stylus that gets heated and filled with wax, and then you can draw with it) so I thought I'd try drawing on the brown egg with the wax and painting over it with dilute black acrylic, since the wax would act as a resist with the water-based paint. What I didn't realize was that the acrylic, when dry, would peel when I heated it to remove the wax. Oh well...this first floral egg is still rather pretty and unusual, and the bad parts on the other one can be hidden in some raffia-grass.

We're having a string of very cold, rainy days and everyone is fed up. There were even some snowflakes outside a few minutes ago. I tried to do some work on my plants anyway: I repotted my clivia and two houseplant shoots, and got the dahlia and canna tubers out of winter storage; the dahlias will soak overnight to plump up and this week I'll get all of those into pots. A few months ago I cut back the lantana very severely and now -- it's blooming! The strong light at the studio is wonderful for plants, and because of it they've spent a much happier winter this year.

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, and our singing-marathon begins: first a descent into darkness, followed by light, flowers, and blooming branches. I hope, after this week, spring will get the message!