Day 210 ~ Make something in a bottle.

Soaked the labels off the Barefoot Pinot Grigio bottle. Filled it with sand. Found a mimosa branch from my stash (thank-you, Susan, my mimosa branch supplier) that looked most like a snake. Used a flapper to sand and shape it (thank-you, Judy, for the use of your wood shop). Hand-carved the eyes, mouth and sections of the tail. Added a small, forked branch for a tongue by drilling a hole into the mouth and whittling down the little branch to fit the hole. Painted the snake black, then, when that dried, dry-brushed with light green, letting some black come through for the features and texture. Painted the tongue with red enamel. The end of the tail is glued onto the bottom of the bottle with jeweler's adhesive.

Kinda hard to see the detail in this photo, unless you feel like blowing it up. This little snake was really fun to create. 

One more thing. Mimosa, which is considered sort of a weed tree around here, is a wonderful wood to make things with. When it's stripped of its bark (Susan finds it's easiest to soak the branches in water first) and sanded, it has a bone-like feel. I use it for things like arms and legs on some of my wall piece figures, or just as small, painted and wrapped bundles in mixed media work. The mimosa tree can be identified this time of year by its bright pink, fluffy blossoms.