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.

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.