chickens and art

My adopted chickens are a picture of health! I got them about half a year ago for $9 each and rescued from a battery where the girls would had a life of living cramped in cages and not able to stratch the soil,have a dust bath or even enjoy the rain on their feathers.
When I got the three sisters,they where nearly naked with hardly any feathers,bare bums [not sexy!] and in a miserable state.
The first night I had to help them up the plank into the night shelter and into the straw.
One of the girls could only walk three steps forward and three back for the first day,never done anything else!
After good food,even a bit of dog roll for protein and lots of fresh air and love the sisters started to lay three beautiful brown eggs a day to say thank you.
Even my most cynical friends have to admit that ex battery hens can produce eggs and that the eggs taste good! "They will never lay an egg again,the chooks had it!"
I prove now with the photographs that it is worth to rescue battery hens, I have got three great girls to look after.

I am still working on my big portrait painting Annelise,time is not always on my hands.
Hopefully I get it done before going to Cambodia and can auction or sell the painting for fund raising.

Butterfly cards and Wat Opot Cambodia

The butterfly cards are made from the watercolour paper painted at our last month girls coffee morning when we had fun with watercolour.I bought a template and used the template to trace the butterflies and assembled the cut outs on the card with silicone glue. The butterfly images are stamped and then embossed with embossing powder.

The trip to Wat Opot Cambodia is booked and paid and Fiona and I leaving 13July and back 16 August.
We are working and staying in Wat Opot Community for about four weeks.
I hope to bring art materials and craft supplies from Christchurch,as much as possible really. I hope to do some sewing when I am there as well,because there are 8 sewing machines and maybe I can do some mending or teaching some basic sewing.
I have opened an ANZ account for all my expenses to come: vaccinations,insurance and stay in Wat Opot and supplies I like to take with me or send.
ANZ WAT OPOT 01 1158 0160332 00 maryke lups.
All the money will go towards the trip and stay in Wat Opot.
The new website is: http://www.watopot.org/

Wat Opot Cambodia

This year part July and August I am going to visit and work in Wat Opot Community,Cambodia together with Fiona.

Wat Opot is an orphanage for children and their families affected by HIV and Aids.

Wat Opot is about 50km from Phnom Penh.

Fiona and myself are hoping to teach the children and young adults basic jewellery skills like braiding,weaving with beads,making simple but funky jewellery.

The jewellery made can be sold for extra income for the children and community.

I am very excited and also a bit nervous to go to Cambodia,but what an experience.

I am serious going to do fundraising to take as much supplies as possible and to pay for my trip and hopefully extra funds for Wat Opot.

Visit http://www.tsoham.info/ and have a look at the beautiful photographs and read their stories.

I also love to do some art activities with the children just having fun with colours!