Aerianth and Volath's Clutch, August 2005

The theme for this cluch was "Song Lyrics". The clutching log can be found here.

Moonlit Darkness Egg

Soft sable cloaks this egg's base, rising in shadow along the sides, so that deciding where the obsidian shell ends and the ebon sand beneath begins is sometimes difficult. The soot-like darkness begins to break, however, near the egg's equator. Tiny pinpricks of white breach night's hold, at first few and scattered, but ever more dense as they approach the apex. At that peak, they condense in a nebulous blue-white blur of light, its brightness more than visual--there's almost a warmth infused in the color. Near it, dwarfed by the moon above but larger than the stars, are two blurred drops of pigment. The first, the slightly larger of the two, is brightest turquoise, several shades more vivid than the peak. It merges almost seamlessly into a more verdant green, the smaller patch, and only a little imagination is necessary to see two sets of wings beating in time.

Inspiration: "Fly Me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra

Fly me to the moon
Let me sing among those stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars

Ellery

Colors Changing Hue Egg

Darkness gives way to the flame-licked touches of dawn, the pinpoints of starlight waning in morning's blazing embrace. Brushstroked clouds in periwinkle and violet cast a nearly misty haze over the landscape that makes up the lower third of this egg. Light reflects off of the representational floral shapes beneath, melding their brilliance with a bountiful harvest of waving stalks of amber. When the egg is tipped, its image tricks the eye, appearing to some as the landscape, and to others, as the enlarged and shadowed hand of an aged Master, his fingers bent in loving concentration as each brush's movement produces the colorful mirage.

Inspiration: "Vincent" by Don McLean

Starry, starry night
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze
Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue
Colors changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand

Nolee

Radiant Energy Egg

Near the back of the clutch sits a more round than oval orb, though an imperfect one. But lest its location leave it lost in the backdrop, the shell blazes with fire-born brightness in a bold incineration of molten oranges and gaseous yellows dotted by small darker spots. Through the hot haze hatching sands heat, the surely-solid surface of the ovoid seems to bustle with the activity of shifting patterns and almost too-bright hues.

Inspiration: "Why Does the Sun Shine" by They Might Be Giants

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas
A gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium
At a temperature of millions of degrees
Yo, ho, it's hot, the sun is not
A place where we could live
But here on Earth there'd be no life
Without the light it gives

Ailisha

Great Mystery Egg

The upper contours of this egg swirl with blues and greens, broad strokes of oceanic teal splashed by blotches of oily black and interrupted by hurricane spirals of cloudy gray. The lower hemisphere tends more to warm shades, with fiery licks of orange streaking contrast against smoky browns and desert sands. Tiny seabird shapes, mere calligraphy-marks of pure white, ring the shell in a rising formation, ever migrating northward to the egg's apex.

Inspiration: "Earth and Sun and Moon" by Midnight Oil

In the morning we will wake up and take to the air
Look back at the planet - I'm glued to my chair
Southern half is burning as we climb through the cky
Sea birds softly falling, smoke way up high

There's the contours of the mountains, the deserts and plains
And a hurricane is blowing, and it turns once again
Now there's oil spills in the water where Columbus once sailed
And there's history and mystery and it's rolling away

V'lano

Red Sunset Egg

A roseate shade covers the fine grain of this moderately sized egg, twists and curls of darker red, orange, rust and flicks of lavender and indigo combining to give the impression of a sunset at sea. An uneven black band around the egg's diameter is reminiscent of the black sand beach of Ista. A blob on the band of a lighter color could, if one squints, take form as a person sitting on the sand. A smidgen of black against the sunset in thin, long shapes, resembles a ship under sail silhouetted against the death of day.

Inspiration: "Red Sails in the Sunset" by Nat King Cole

Red sails in the sunset,
Way out on the sea,
Oh carry my loved one,
Home safely to me.

He sailed at the dawning,
All day I've been blue
Red sails in the sunset
I'm trusting in you.

Jillah

Unnaturally Green Egg

Exceedingly oblong, this one is the most sickly hue of green imaginable. Blobs of puce and heather meld into near brown, the color of fetid growth and developed algae strong enough to provoke a gag reflex in those of weaker stomachs. The long, thin shape of the egg might even cause concern for the growing dragon within. Patches of moss daubed over with near black looking mildew seem to be alive, their tendrils waving disgustingly, wilting in the heat of the sands.

Inspiration:"No One Mourns for the Wicked" from the musical "Wicked"

Midwife: "The baby's coming."
Midwife & Father: "I see a nose, I see a curl, It's a healthy perfect lovely little--ahh!
Father: "Sweet Oz!"
Mother: "What is it? What's wrong?"
Midwife: "How can it be?"
Father: "What does it mean?"
Midwife: "It's atrocious!"
Father: "It's obscene!"
Midwife & Father: "Like a froggy, ferny cabbage, the baby is unnaturally"
All: "GREEN!"
Father: "Take it away, take it away!"

Linnea

Twilight's Dream Egg

Cobalt combs over this egg, dancing with streaks of violet and carmine and melding into a breathtaking twilight. Shadowy shapes and outlines can almost be made out, though the longer one studies it, the more it seems that objects lose their clarity in the descending dreamy dimness coating this squat egg. One white shape stands squarely out against the near-darkness, its spread wings representative of the light and ready to carry it aloft, heralding forth 'an aerial display by the firefly brigade' which swirls whimsically all about.

Inspiration: "Twilight Time" by The Moody Blues

Twilight time, to dream awhile,
Unveils a deepening blue.
As fantasy strides, over colourfull skies,
The form disappearing from view.
In twilight time, dream with me awhile.
A nightingale plays a dark mellow phrase,
Of notes that are rich and so true.
An aerial display by the firefly brigade,
Dancing to tunes no one knew.

T'bay

Contained Tempest Egg

Subtle, chilly distance seems to pervade the curves and heated imaginings deep in the play of hues held prisoner by shape and surface. Hues of psychedelic acid yellow lashes through stormy violet with scarlet arrows, calmed here and there with demure curls of blue-green turquoise and broken by raging sunset tones. Nighttime shadows edge bright color, passionate life waiting for the right touch before emerging - yet the tempest seems to whirl within the ovoid, a curious overlay that shimmers with a touch of silvery jade that keeps it out of focus, untouched, locked up tight.

Inspiration: "Genie In A Bottle" by Christina Aguilera.

If you wanna be with me, baby
There's a price you pay
I'm a genie in a bottle
You gotta rub me the right way
If you wanna be with me
I can make your wish come true
Come and set me free, baby
And I'll be with you

Belanca

Bed of Flowers Egg

Both inviting and enticing, this egg almost begs to be touched. It's littered with a smattering of brilliant verdant green, intermingled with speckles and dashes of red, orange, yellow, making it appear as if it is a field of wildflowers, just pleading to be picked. The faintest line of brown leads from the rounded bottom of the egg, disappearing somewhere into the midsection, as though a trail leads through to a romantic and secluded arbor, just out of sight beyond the flowers.

Inspiration: "Pickin' Wildflowers" by Keith Anderson

Baby whatcha say we go pickin' wildflowers?
Got a spot way back in the woods.
Sneak away for a couple of hours,
You and me baby, pickin' wildflowers.

B'rakis

Subtle Skirmish Egg

Most notable above all else is the seemingly unbroken, pale cream color of this egg. Miniscule and easily overlooked for the most part, the true beauty of this shell can only be seen up close and personal. Two warring waves of white and off-white meet from rounded edges upon the egg's heart. Where they collide, a solid band of white prevails, pushing upwards in an arc that wends around the egg in an infinite spiral of an unstoppable force.

Inspiration: "Headstrong" by Trapt

Circling your, circling your, circling your head,
Contemplating everything you ever said
Now I see the truth, I got doubt
A different motive in your eyes and now I’m out

Aiemera

Shrouded Night Egg

An egg shrouded in inky darkness wears about itself a diaphanous veil conveyed as a translucent black layer that drapes breezy folds along the egg's contours. The black veil parts along one length of the shell to reveal a yellowed puddle of light spilling against the cold blackness. No starlight pinpricks break the cloak of midnight save that single slant of faded yellow illumination spilling through the emptiness like a solitary light piercing an otherwise complete, cold night.

Inspiration: "Long Black Veil" by Johnny Cash

Ten years ago ago, on a cold dark night
Someone was killed 'neath the town hall light...
She walks these hills
In a long black veil.
She visits my grave
When the night winds wail.
Nobody knows. Nobody sees.
Nobody knows but me.

Erivan

Nice Legs Egg

Crowned in a billowy cream, this ruffled egg stands out from the bench in all of its uniqueness. Its bold fashion statement is made in the form of bright red, rich navy, and raven black criss-crossing in a plaid pattern across the mid-section of this egg - texture showing a flare outwards as it moves along the round sides of the egg. It gives way to shadow - hinting at depth to the orb that isn't truly there save for two streaks of dirt-smudged beige, thickly marred by brown. These shapely stumps are set in a background of verdant green like that which can be found in mid spring in the Keroonian hills, much as it clashes with the already outlandish color scheme. Pulling this look off is not easy, of course, but just perhaps the Nice Legs Egg does it justice.

Inspiration: "Donald, Where's Your Trousers?" by The Brobdingnagian Bards

Let the wind blow high and the wind blow low
Through the streets in my kilt I go
All the lassies cry, "Hello!
Donald, where's your trousers?

Eslyn

Whirlwind Egg

A vision of air wraps around this egg, ripplings of soft pale blues and colorless mist, sky and wind flying along together. The faint striations of hue create a sense of motion, as if opalescence and phthalo speed along in an endless orbit around the shell. Slate and charcoal cloud the base of this egg in ashen, earthy darkness from which fluttering specks break off and rise upward in a spiral. They grow paler and softer until they are hardly more than pinpricks of silver, flashes of light against the swirling mist.

Inspiration: "Speed of Sound" by Coldplay

All that noise, and all that sound,
All those places I got found.
And birds go flying at the speed of sound,
To show you how it all began.
Birds came flying from the underground,
If you could see it then you'd understand

Griere

Wasted Oasis Egg

A shifting, impulsive kaleidoscope ghosts across this egg, casting brilliant emeralds on curves and planes with no true coherency to their design. Malachite dusts the deep green surface, glinting silver beneath angled light - but beyond that, far more distinct than both glitter and jade, is a heavy fog of murkiest rust smothering what lies beneath. Reminiscent of smoke, sepia and bronze storm unchecked above the viridian hues, spreading dark shadows to veil that which is beautiful. The smog plays havoc with its verdant field, and seems not merely able but eager to swallow all else that may approach.

Inspiration: "The Return to Oz" by Scissor Sisters

He said is this the return to Oz?
The grass is dead
The gold is brown
And the sky has claws
There's a wind-up man walking round and round
What once was Emerald City
Is now a crystal town.

Jasia

Honourable Mentions

Unfortunately we weren't able to use every egg we were given; here are the ones that didn't make it to the Hatching Sands:

Goodbye's Embrace Egg

A tangled knot of flesh tones sits lonely, off to itself at the far edge of the clutch. Pale milky apricot twines and enwraps around work-browned angles flexing around ovoid surface like the curvature of a muscle straining beneath the surface of skin. These hints of clarity, almost like an artist's rendering in intensity of imagery, seem to fade and blur at the shell's edges, fuzzing any possible interpretation, as if someone has spilled water upon it and the picture's colors and distinctions were lost in that moment.

Inspiration: "Both Hands" by Ani DiFranco

Ailisha

Smooth Moves Egg

Swathes of midnight blue slash back and forth across the surface of this slender egg, longer and leaner than it is wide, creating visual percussion across the expanse. Charcoal bandings slink and twang around the circumference of shell. Widest across the center, they are met by a criss-cross of silvery slash marks, each in triplicate, as if a feline had first taken a swipe from one side and then the other.

Inspiration: "Stray Cat Strut" by The Stray Cats

Ailisha

Music of the Night Egg

The texture of this egg in shades of darkness is a combination of slick shiny satin and matte, rough nubble, much like some subterranean lake bounded by a rocky, rough cavern. Clumps of pinpricks of a golden hue are scattered, both in the shiny section and in the slight declivities of the rock-appearing surface, small candle flames lending a mysterious, romantic aura. Streaks of crimson seem to drape and swing in swags of tapestry and drapery. It is dark, gothic romance, luring the innocent and unwary to study the surface for hours.

Inspiration: "Music of the Night" from "The Phantom of the Opera"

Jillah

Magnificent Vista Egg

The pure, bright blue of a cloudless sky over the Istan beach provides a backdrop for the rich colors of this smaller egg. Its palette ranges from the dark klah-bark peaks of a chordant mountain to the verdant deep greens reaching upward from the peak's surface. Wavy stripes in muted shades invite the intrepid wanderer deeper into the forest canopy, promising wonders to behold. Another splash of color comes in the daubs of red, orange, and even blue buried against lighter leafy fronds, the fruited offerings of this inviting image.

Inspiration: "Colors of the Wind" recorded by Ashanti (featuring Shi Shi)

Nolee

Untitled Egg

One half of the lower portion of this squat egg features a tranquil and peaceful forest setting, verdigris forked shapes representing trees complete with wavy brown blurs beneath to provide roots and support. Between the trees meanders a blue line of a river, which detours around a gray-boulder blob along its course. A v-shaped gathering of squiggles marks the avians above taking to the sky, their course outstretching to the back view of the egg, which largely consists of an oblong oceanic hue rocked by the grays and blacks of an incoming tempest. On the water's surface, small brown shapes seem to be tossed about, tiny red-clad figures aboard making pleas upward to the yellow and white streaked heavens where a comet brightens the sky.

Inspiration: "For Good" from the musical "Wicked"

Linnea

Wake me up Inside Egg

Palest of silver adorns this egg in a patterned rainfall that sends tiny rivulets drawing down over round sides. Carmine swaths a deep base as it curls upon itself and seems to fight gravity itself as it curls upward, straining against the downpour of silver to reach the peak. Upon contact, silver and carmine reach a furious combination that all but explodes into a brilliant burst of white upon the very peak, and gold-touched sparks that shower down the round sides.

Inspiration: "Bring me to Life" by Evanescence (featuring Paul McCoy)

Aiemera

The Flying Purple People Eater Egg

Purple. It's the only color upon this odd-looking egg made all the more strange by the haphazard patterning. Dark splotches lay atop pale lilac, looking crooked and dripping as they hug the round sides of the egg. Polka-dots appear at the very base; large at first but gradually decreasing in size as they draw near the pointed dome. In stark contrast, pale purple covers the top of the dome, dropping into sharp triangles that give the egg an appearance of having actual teeth. But now, that's just foolish, isn't it?

Inspiration: "The Flying Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley

Aiemera

Broken Egg

Black and white, darkness and light, hope and disappointment. The egg seems to be a combination of all, if only by the oppressive blackness that shadows the whole of this egg. Stark white cracks appear, criss-crossing their way across the egg, making it look as though it's already cracked shell. But half-way 'round the egg, a small point of golden brilliance shows through. A spark of fiery light within the oppressive darkness, a last glimmer of something promising.

Inspiration: "Broken" by Seether (featuring Amy Lee)

Aiemera

Pinnacle of Innocence Egg

Swathed in the warmest colors, every one a suggestion of day, this egg wears its own incandescence with quiet gratification. At first glance the shell gives an illusion of sunlight, the most vivid amber fading upwards until it reaches the gilded zenith. Leaning closer, however, one might find a constellation of orange instead - crisscrossing shades that range from apricot to pastel tangerine, a soft-hued pattern at the intersections of which reside a saffron splotch. If followed, this map of stars eventually leads the eye to the top, where the most brilliant crest of gold rests placidly - an untainted crown protected by that which lies beneath.

Inspiration: "Center of the Sun" by Conjure One

Jasia