Tuesday, May 22, 2012

small pleasures

This time of the year is always a whirlwind of activity, carving until dawn, making jewelry till my hands ache, all on top of day to day chores. Its fun and exhausting, because I think artists thrive on impending deadlines. The house is full to capacity with the hum of machines in the studio, music to keep us lively and meals constantly being prepared (I'm loving anything in a slow cooker these days). The energy is wonderful. The new work we've been producing is fantastic (pictures as soon as they are out of the molds!) and we are really excited about it. While its fun, it can be a little tiny bit draining, so its nice to sit quietly and let one's mind wander for awhile. I started making tiny baskets from waxed linen thread. It keeps my hands busy in the morning, while thinking of the days activities, or while waiting for some process or another to finish up, since I can just put the basket in my pocket. The linen is coated with wax, so it doesn't come apart, or unravel easily. I use them as doll baskets or to hold earrings or rings at my desk. The pictures show them holding earrings by Kathy Van Kleeck and a bronze bird girl I had Greg make for a hairpin.

3 comments:

Megan Noel said...

i love your little baskets. are they crocheted or did you use traditional basket weaving techniques? they'd look great embellished with a few beads!

Cynthia Thornton said...

I used a traditional basket weaving technique called twinging. I agree, beads would be good!

Kathy Van Kleeck said...

Damn girl - is there anything you don't do exceptionally well? Keep thinking about a rendezvous, but looks like it will have to be after I ship a couple of wholesale orders and you're done with B&B. Looking forward to seeing the new goodies ...
hugs!