Robin Arnold Art

I haven't had a lot of time for my projects lately but I've managed to steal a few minutes here and there away from mowing grass, working for the meager paycheck, etc. My main focus now is Santa carvings for my Etsy store. While some of my items don't sell as well as previous years my Santas still do well. I even broke down and used some of my extra special pieces of Lake Erie cottonwood bark and I think the results turned out well. Santa with toy bag and Teddy bear Santa with Teddy bear was carved from piece of bark I picked up at East Harbor State Park several years ago, before the emerald ash borer invaded Ohio and you could still pick up wood and carry it out of the park.  I wanted to do something special with this piece but it sat on my bench for several weeks before the "light" went on. I used to carve off  most if not all of the rough areas but I now prefer to leave more of it intact for a more rustic look. https://www.etsy.com/listing/248060535/ca...

This has been a tough spring here. Unlike other parts of the country that are having severe droughts it has done nothing but rain where I live and trying to keep up with the mowing has severely cut into my carving time. As you can see in the following photo I have a few that need to be finished. We are supposed to get up to 3" of rain tomorrow which means our place will most likely be flooded. I can't mow through standing water so maybe I'll get some carving time in this weekend. I've also had to cut back on  my carving because of two additions to our small flock of chickens. Last Sunday we were given two black silkies...a rooster--we swore we would never have a rooster again--and a hen. Black Silkie Rooster Meet Thor the rooster. Thor loves to protect his kingdom by hanging out in front of the coop which  is not good because the hens are terrified of him and can't get into the coop to lay eggs. Meanwhile, Thor is terrified of Keetie, our guinea, so he ...