The Ameraucana is an American breed of domestic chicken. It was developed in the United States in the 1970s, and derives from Araucana chickens brought from Chile. It was bred to retain the blue-egg gene but eliminate the lethal alleles of the parent breed. There are both standard-sized and bantam versions. Wikipedia
The organic farm where I work part time, has Ameraucana hens who lay eggs with green exterior  and blue interior, to their shells. This month, I have been processing these shells to grind into a fine and subtle blue pigment that I will use in my next paintings. 

Teabag ink and paint experiments in progress -  There are 2 kinds of inks, 1 is pigment based and the other is a chemical reaction. One of the oldest inks used by humans, not including squid ink, is the chemical reaction kind where naturally occurring tannin in plants and organic materials reacts with ferrous sulphate  ttps://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/outreach/ncw/plan-an-event/educational-resources/making-ink-with-tea-and-Iron-hist.pdf 
My experiments are playing very loosely with the science and the process is developing in interesting directions. In this documentation both methods are being tested.

Moulding and Casting again but now with resourced moulds and organic materials, home made charcoal, egg shells, yolks and whites that were destined for the compost. Farm eggs that are cracked or not top quality are disposed of, I then collect some and use as binder or castable material. I am collecting old kitchen tins that were used for casting foods and re purposing them to cast experimental artworks. 

Pistachio shell painting continues, in the studio and at artclub98
Shout out to all the contributing artists who have helped paint their original designs, special thanks to Rhea Szariks and Rachel Warwick

It is April and Dandelions are starting to bloom in the Fraser Valley. Harvesting and crushing into "paper", for it is a rough and in-precise science I am conducting these days. I have started making this paper from plants, flowers and foliage that catch my attention and are very seasonal in their short existence. Below are papers made out of Rhubarb flowers and Cottonwood buds which have the most beautiful fragrance but make a sticky mess that still needs a lot of experimentation.

Rhubarb flower and Rhubarb flower paper

Cottonwood buds, sticky and pungent - Cottonwood bud paper

Growing my own canvasses from lemons grown in our home, from discarded peels of bought oranges and pomelos. Reviving old technique and tradition of using citrus fruit peels to dry over containers and use as canvasses.