JESSICA'S BRACELET

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

My niece, Jessica, is graduating from high school....actually, I think graduation is tonight. My sister, Mary, asked me to make a special bracelet for Jessica as a graduation gift. So here it is....a cool new and bold pattern, photo etched on a 1" sterling silver cuff bracelet. I chose this pattern because it is so alive and bold and has a flair....like Jessica. There is nothing timid about her....I mean that in the best possible way. Jessica is not afraid of new adventures or exploring new territory....and believe me, the girls got style. As I was shaping the bracelet around the mandrel, I tried, with every stroke of my hammer, to imbue the metal with some qualities that I know will come in handy for Jessica as she enters this new chapter of her life. Qualities like: perseverance when all seems lost...patience when everyone around you is losing theirs... confidence that the answer lies deep within and that with some solitude and quietness it will usually rise to the surface....loyalty...the ability to laugh at one's self ...compassion...and a sense of the awe and wonder at how the universe supports us on our journey. What a grand and wonderful adventure lies ahead! Good luck, Jessica....we are all waving our pom-poms for you.

TOOLS BOOK

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE

TOOLS is another one of the books I had in the COMING UNBOUND: BOOKS AS SCULPTURE show at Northwind Gallery in Port Townsend, WA. This book is photo etched copper with a miniature piano hinge and vintage c-clamps used as a binding. It's a ledger style.....so more pages can be added. TOOLS measures approximately 9" x 5.75" x 2.75".


I am someone who really appreciates tools....I use them....I own them....I gravitate toward them. I especially love tools that have been used over a long period of time....a worn handle on a hammer....a wrench with a beautiful patina....etc. A tool with any plastic parts does nothing for me. It won't be around in 20....50....or 100 years. The saying, They don't make them like they used to," definitely applies to tools.

If you are familiar with my blog at all, you know that I am also interested in photography. Inside the TOOLS book are some of my macro images of tools processed through a blueprint filter. I own most of these tools and my hands, tools in themselves, are the most recent ones to use them. I trust that when I am gone, many more pairs of hands will find pleasure and satisfaction as they grip a well worn handle.

My dad had a basement work shop that held all his tools. It always had a great smell that was part damp earth...oil....and freshly cut wood. He hid the key under a brick just beside the door. Just inside on the left was an ancient ban saw....and there was a large red vise clamped on the work bench....and jars full of mismatched screws and nails. It was never a tidy space but practically anything you needed was there....somewhere....and dad could always find it. Later in his life he got interested in radio control airplanes. He was a pilot during the war and I think that flying the small planes was a fun challenge for him....so there were also bits and pieces of planes and wings and props scattered around. There was a bit of magic in that shop mixed in with the screwdrivers and wrenches and dusty photos of his kids on a shelf. A few of his tools have made their way to me. One that I think of often is still stored at my sister's house in Tn....just waiting until I can get it to it's new home in WA....the big red vise. I think dad would be happy about that.

Here are a few images from the book called TOOLS.