MARK'S FARM POND SKIMMER

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Over Christmas I visited my sister, Mary, and her family in Tennessee. They live on a gorgeous piece of rural property with an amazing 3/4 acre farm pond behind the house. This pond has been the source of much entertainment over many years including ... fishing ...kayaking ...skating (when the pond freezes over) ... watching wild and domestic ducks with their soap opera-ish relationships...and observing a lone heron fishing for breakfast. Even it's perimeter creates a great walking loop for clearing one's head or exercising the dogs. You can never tell what you might find on an adventure around the pond...a large snapping turtle...feathers left from the kestrel's kill...or a baby bird fallen from it's nest. My favorite thing about the pond is the bullfrogs. In the coolness of a spring evening the big bullfrogs call to each other from each end of the pond.....looking for mates or just a good time. It is loud and booming and I can't get enough of that sound. You can feel it reverberating in your inner chambers.

Mary wanted to surprise her husband, Mark, with one of my pond skimmers as a Christmas gift. I mailed my tools to TN and hand carried the boat frame on the airplane. In the evening after Mark went to bed I worked on the skimmer.


I chose this photograph of the pond and dock where so many memories have happened. I took this photo last spring when the trees were leafed out. I love how the reflections look abstract on Mark's skimmer.


Here is Mary having a conversation with one of her domestic muscovy ducks. Her ducks are all characters and could have their own version of a comedy show or sitcom.



This is Jack, one of Mary's King Charles Cavalier Spaniels, just about to get too close to a snapping turtle.


The pellucid skimmer is about 15" long and is made from archival inkjet printed gampi paper and copper. The ribs are attached with waxed linen string.