Hippocampuses galore

They have always held a special place in my heart... they look like dragons, the swim, they mate for life and the father carries the babies in his belly full term... ah to be seahorse would be wonderful!

When I was in the UK last summer I came across an old beaut up frame in a charity shop, inside was the real treasure, three dried, ancient, seahorses... the naturalist in me whooped and my heart skipped a beat. Seahorses are collected and dried for art, something that really bothers me. But these were clearly very very old. And those are the only ones I would ever buy. I tossed the frame and mounted the seahorses on some scrap fabric in a new frame. I love them. They have moved aournd quite a bit, but they now reside in my newly beached up diningroom.

....I am not a good enough zoologist to tell you the species these little beauties are, but they are certainly of the Hippocampus genus :)

and then I found me another one. This one never swam a day in his life, but he is perhaps even more dear to me. Would you like to hear his story?

This is the paque that my grandfather got for swimming. "the Seahorse" is something you get when you swim like...well a seahorse. He worked hard for this. I found him buried in the shed. The name plaque has sadly dissapeared, but I might work out something else. When I found him he was in bad shape, he had fallen off his plaque, which was a dull brown. The seahorse himself was a boring copper colour. He needed some sprucing up before being let into Vinnord. So I took out my paints, mixed him a few aqua colours and stained the wood several times before sanding it a bit down again. Then I stained him in a blue-hue verdigris as well. And look at him now! I absolutely LOVE him... He swam right up on that wall, and fit right into the cottage!!! After years of neglect in the shed, he once again is a shining pillar of strength and endurance!

I'm sorry I didnt get to snap a before photo... in my eagerness to start him I simply forgot! I love easy and quick projects like this one!!!