MAD MARCH HARES!

We have a saying in the UK 'mad as a March hare'. It derives from the behaviour of hares in their breeding season, which starts here in March. They appear to box each other and jump in the air. If you get up early, you might be lucky enough to see them leaping about in a meadow. I've only seen hares 'boxing' once and that was a long time ago.

I've used 'boxing' hares as my theme for March but, being a geriatric martial artist, I've changed their sport and awarded them both black belts! I've tried to represent the idea of the Vernal Equinox (20th March this year) by balancing day & night, sun & moon, silver and gold. The sun and moon designs on the hares' bodies were influenced by Huichol Indian beadwork.

The beads I used for the edging are from a broken rope of jet beads that belonged to my great-grandmother. I hope she would be amused that I've recycled them in this way! The bits of leather were  from charity shop finds.

I've included a few details on my blog (link on the right) of some of the things that didn't go quite as I'd planned.

PS I've just added some close-up photos so you can see what I mean!