WHERE DREAMS ARE STORED

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WHERE DREAMS ARE STORED is the third piece I made for the SETTING SAIL...ARTIST AT SEA show at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts on Bainbridge Island in WA state. The base is photo etched nickel and measures 8" x 8" and the entire sculpture is 10.75" tall. The framework of the boat house has a verdigris finish and a mica roof. The fold formed copper boat is suspended by waxed linen cord.


Because some dreams are too big to be contained, the etched and fold formed copper boat extends beyond the boat house perimeter by just a bit. The etched surface of the boat (from a photograph of ripples on water) is meant to be a reflection of the etched nickel below the boat. Small wavelets were pierced and cut into the nickel using a jeweler's saw and then were bent up slightly.

Sometimes we hold on to our dreams for a while until the time is right....or until the need to move forward is so strong we can't put our dreams off anymore. I believe that those dreams that stay with us for a long time or the ones that keep surfacing, even at inconvenient moments, are meant to be explored....excavated....nurtured. This suspended boat seems like the perfect place to store a dream until a breath of life can be given to it.

MICHAEL'S JOURNEY

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Recently my dear friend, Kerry, journeyed from her home in Australia to Port Townsend, WA to visit friends and old haunts. She brought with her an envelope of precious photos that her friend, Michael, sent along with the hope of having one of my skimmer boats made. I've never met Michael but after sorting through the images....scanning....resizing...printing....glueing....I feel as though I now know at least part of his story. We all have a story, unique to us....the checker at the grocery store....the woman who walks her dog everyday at 3pm....the man in the red shirt in the sailboat on the bay. Making this boat was a reminder to me to consider the people around me....the ones I don't know....the ones who I only glance in their direction....and to remember that they, too, have a story....and it is as valid and worthy as my own.

The frame of this skimmer is hammered copper.... I used waxed linen thread to connect the ribs. Using archival inks I printed the photos on gampi paper (a very thin but strong Japanese paper). The paper is glued to the boat frame using an acid free book binders glue. This skimmer measures (with the stand) approximately 9.5" x 4.5" x 2.5". The stand is cherry with copper uprights.

A big thanks to Kerry for hand carrying the boat on the airplane back to Australia and to Michael for the opportunity of making his skimmer.

Here is a portion of a note I included with the boat.
I call this style boat a skimmer. It reminds me of a curled leaf on a pond riding light and high on the water....just skimming the surface. To me a “boat” is a metaphor for our life’s journey...swift water...placid water...a few white caps...the occasional tsunami...we are carried along. I’ve titled this skimmer “Michael’s Journey”. I’m hoping the rest of your journey will be amazing and filled with wonder and that your boat will ride high and dry.

POND SKIMMER

This is my second attempt to make a boat. This POND SKIMMER measures 15.5 inches overall with the boat opening being about 10 inches. It is made of flattened copper wire and thin japanese paper (Gampi). The image of the lily pads is from a photo that I tweaked a bit in photoshop to make it appear less photographic and more painterly. The stand is made of cherry with copper uprights.


Looking down into the boat.

Is there anything more fun than gazing into a still pond and wondering what lies beneath the murky water....tadpoles....a snapping turtle....someone's lost wrist watch....? I remember lying flat on my stomach at the waters edge and watching water striders...also called jesus bugs because they walk on water. They weigh next to nothing because with no effort at all they seem to skate or glide across the surface. I read recently that they can carry up to 15 times their weight and still stay afloat... they must have a little magic in their pocket. The striders remind me of my POND SKIMMER. It's not actually made to go into water but if it was I'm sure it would ride high and be moved around by the slightest breeze.



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