Paint by Number...

                     

As a child I used to love doing paint by number pictures.  There were all kinds of pictures from animals, to nature scenes, to buildings and so many more.  Each one came with a pre-printed painting board and little pots of paints that were numbered.  The painting had a numbers in the spots that were to be painted the color in the corresponding paint pot.  Of course you didn't have to follow the instructions and could paint it any color you wanted. 

Medalta made vases that were embossed with different things, there are Storks, Dutch people, Indian Chief and Maiden and a dragon to name a few.  Some of the vases are just glazed but others are hand painted and each raised piece on the vase is painted.  On a quick look the painting on them looks to be the same but on closed inspection there are a variety of colors on some of the pieces.

The same theme or pattern can be found on several different vases, some painted and some just glazed.

When I look at the vases it reminds of the paint by number art I did as a child.  I wonder how the people painting the vases decided what colors to use......did they have a guide?  Did they choose what ever color they wanted? How many would be painted in a day at work?

Imagine sitting at a work station with a paint brush in hand and putting the finishing touches on a vase.  Not only is it a vase but it is now a piece of art.

Another amazing thing about the hand painted vases is that they are cold painted and not glazed after they are painted.  Over time the paint rubs off, wears off or can be damaged by use as a vase from the water for the flowers.

  

I love the colorful addition these vases make to our collection!

And the search continues.....

Saskatchewan ........... Hard to Spell, Easy to Draw

Saskatchewan is the place that just over a million people call home, it is a province of vast diversity....there are several urban centres other than Regina and Saskatoon with vast prairie landscape in between.  So many people never leave the TransCanada Highway so all they see is the straight flat land of the province and not the beautiful landscape on either side of that southern highway. 

In the Southwest we have https://greatsouthwest.ca/great-sandhills/ and everyone should go out there on a nice summer day with a crazy carpet!  Some of the communities close are Sceptre and Prelate and south of the TransCanada is Simmie, go for a drive and see the sand dunes along with antelope, elk, moose, mule deer and many other 4 legged creatures.

 Lemsford, Saskatchewan is home to a ferry that crosses the South Saskatchewan River, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemsford_Ferry.

 Maple Creek is south of the TransCanada and is the entryway to the Cypress Hills.  Eastend, Saskatchewan is where Medalta got the clay to use in the plant in Medicine Hat to make the pottery and is located at the east end of the Cypress Hills.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypress_Hills_(Canada), from the top of the hills it feels as if you can touch the stars and moon, what an amazing place to do some star gazing.

 

If you head north of the TransCanada Highway you will eventually meet the forest with thousands of lakes and dense forest areas.  Prince Albert is called the gateway to the north and leads into some of the best sport fishing lakes in the country where you share the lakes with the loons and the beavers.

Saskatchewan does not seem to have as many advertising pieces as Alberta and British Columbia, perhaps because the province was sparsely populated for many years, perhaps because it was mostly farming communities and there wasn't much money for fancy things, who knows for sure.  That makes it even more fun to find pieces that have that hard to spell province towns on them.

Two places from Saskatchewan one is world famous and the other is a little town in Southwest Saskatchewan where some very important clay was found.  The writing is hard to read on the Polar Bear but you make our Souvenir of Eastend

Saskatchewan ....... Hard to Spell, Easy to Draw and a Great Place to Explore.

And the Search Continues .........

Sometimes its just for fun...

Have you ever seen something that is just fun and added it to your collection for that reason? 

Well that was the case for us recently, we saw something that was just fun and fit with our collection so we added it.  We were excited to open the parcel when it got here and sure enough the pieces inside were just as fun as the name of the store we bought them from "Silly Sisters Antiques".

We don't usually buy Hycroft pottery, it is fairly plentiful and easier to find but the characters on these are just eye catching and cheery.  I believe the pattern may be The Little Red Hen and they were made in the late 1950s.  If anyone can help with more information please leave us a note in the comments.

This is a small excerpt from information published and is found in the following link https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/MCR/article/view/17156/22857.

"Hycroft China, Medicine Hat, 1956 to present (70 pieces).  In 1956 the Medicine Hat Potteries' plant was acquired by Marwell Construction of Vancouver who, in the next year, sold it to Harry Veiner.  He still operates the plant.  The items produced were marketed under the name Hycroft, even though the company retained many of the original styles and moulds of the Medicine Hat Potteries."

    
                                   

Here is a link to some information on Hycroft: 

https://albertaonrecord.ca/hycroft-china
http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=11505

Until next time....

And the Search Continues.....

Something Different......

Our little community hosts an antique flea market, this year was number 4 and although it was not as good as other years it was still a success and a fun day.  Most of us that go as vendors know each other and it is a great day to visit and catch up on life.  Maybe next year it won't snow so hard and more people will once again come out to see what there is for sale.

We were lucky enough to see one of these at the flea market!!

There was a little of this.......

And a little of that.....

Some of this ........

And some of that......

A little of everything....

It is always interesting to see what other people pick and what they decide to get rid of,  the variety of things that were for sale was pretty amazing for this little community.  Today is mostly a blog post of photos to share with you what we saw that day.

Her Favorites.....

It is a good thing that we all like different things or the world would be a very boring place! 

.


The #1 vase is petit and was done in many colored glazes and decorations, so far we only have glazed pieces in the small sizes so the search continue to find the decorated ones.

My favorite pieces are the smallest of the vases, I have no idea why but I like them the best.

Like always the fun is in the search and the  people we meet along the way.

And the search continues.........

Merry Christmas....Happy New Year

Once again another year is coming to an end and another one is about to begin.  We are truly blessed to have lived, loved and laughed in the last 12 months and shared a few adventures along the way.

We have met new people, learned lots, and added to our collection and even found pieces that we had seen in photos or read about in some of our books.

It is always the people we meet along the way and the memories we make that are the important things in life.

From our home to yours.....Merry Christmas and all the Best in the New Year.