Finding Bottles, Nearly Getting Stuck, and Being Told Off

I spent part of yesterday afternoon visiting the foreshore again. I went back to a place I went last week that Andy and I always used to go to, as it is easy to get down there. Last week when I went I found some good things so thought I would try again. It had rained all morning and then stopped by the time I was there. It was beautiful light and there was lots of lovely mud!

 I think this is lino.

 No idea what this is but it looks like a grin.

I am pretty careful where I tread and test it out before committing my weight, but every so often, from one step to the next, it can be firm mud, then really deep.

 Just to the right of this picture was like that. On the left, on the path, there was a little security office, or something of that sort. There was a man up there, on his phone, watching me. I went after an interesting looking thing, and my foot sank quite far, and it took a moment to regain my balance and pull it out of the mud. As I walked back up to the pebbly part of the shore, he said, in a strong Russian ( I think!) accent, "It is very dangerous what you are doing." I said it was alright, and he then said, "If you get stuck in the mud, there is no one to help you. I advise that you go back up there and leave." I said something placatory and headed back where I was going anyway. I found it a bit aggravating to be told off, but I suppose he was right. I couldn't be bothered to explain that I am actually quite a careful person and took care of where to step etc. He was only trying to be helpful. I did the same thing further up the beach but luckily he didn't see me! I think the worst that would have happened on both occasions would have been that I lost my welly and got a very muddy foot. The danger I am more concerned about is that I slip over and fall on something sharp. There are a lot of pieces of metal sticking out of the mud, so I am very careful around those. 

 Someone had enough of their flat screen T.V.!

 I love seeing anchors on the shore.

 Abandoned shoe!

By the time I was about to leave, the weather had changed again. It got really dark and then absolutely tipped it down! I was already very muddy, and then I got completely soaked. I quite enjoyed being on the beach in heavy rain. It was very dramatic. The lights of the Thames Barrier are twinkling in the distance.

Last week I found, amongst other things, a complete stoneware mustard pot, a milk bottle, and an enamel tobacco sign. Yesterday I found a complete stoneware bottle, another milk bottle, and some lovely pieces of pottery. I will put photos of them on at some point.

And finally, another anchor buried in the shingle. 

Stuck in the Mud

Ages go I got told off by a man watching me on the foreshore when I nearly got stuck in the mud. It stayed in my mind when I was planning another mud larking doll. She kind of developed as she went along. At first all I wanted to do was use half a broken bottle to make something. It had a good shape and colour. The doll is just a head and wired rope limbs. She ended up like this as her hands became a pair of earrings inspired by Frida Kahlo. Not sure what happened to her feet! I was going to make a doll on the theme of drinking as the bottle says 'LIQUOR BOTTLE SCOTLAND' on the base. I used wax to make the edges less sharp, and also thought I could stand the doll in it as she only has wire for feet. Then, as I was playing around with her to see if she would stick, the second idea occurred to me. The wax was like mud. I tried colouring some but that looked horrible so I didn't use it. I had already had a search for the bottle with no luck, but had come across information about sailors making macrame covers for whiskey bottles. I used this idea to make her shawl, using a very simple macrame pattern I learnt. Her black dress is made from a piece of oilcloth I found at Dungeness a long time ago, which was the perfect surface to write the quote from the man on the path. Her hair is made from the same cotton yarn as the macrame. She is wearing a St.Christopher pendant I found lying around as it seemed a good idea just in case. The wire M, and that around her neck is also from the foreshore.