This month’s Blog Carnival** is “Favorite Things”. The actual
mandate was only to show photos of some of your favorite things. Which
immediately put us in touch with our very most favorite thing – breaking the
rules.
As we were scurrying about on this assignment trying to
determine “favorite” things, it turns out that our favorite “things” aren’t
things at all. It’s the meaning and memory attached to the things and what they
represent in terms the intersection of our lives and the lives of others.
Everything we surround ourselves with has a story behind it.
The banalest objects often represent a deeply felt moment in time. It is these
moments that define us as people; the “things” are just the footprints of the
journey we are on. Come by for coffee
some time and we will tell you the full story, but for now here is a synopsis.
Cookie Jar
Belonged to Corliss’ mother. Corliss’ nickname as a child
was “Cookie” for her propensity of
sneaking cookies from this jar.
Cow Jumping Over the Moon
The first thing I did to modify our house when we bought it
in 1982 was to make this window. It was
(and still is) an expression of our
attitude toward life in general.
Frog Soap Dish
A birthday gift from Corliss. All couples have pet names and
inside jokes between themselves. Frogs are one of ours.
Brass Die
This is a custom die that was used to make a commemorative
bookmarking the completion of the Pertamina Oil Refinery in Jakarta Indonesia,
at the time the largest refinery in Indonesia. The die was presented to us as a
special gift and acknowledgment of the work we did on the project.
Hawksbill Sea Turtle
This is a natural history specimen that we were given in
payment for work done for a very old and prominent California family. The
family is a member of a very select group referred to as “pioneers” families.
These were early settlers to the territory during the time California was owned
by the King of Spain. This specimen was collected by a family member circa 1840
prior to the American Civil War.
Micro-Deburring Tool
This list would not be complete without at least one tool,
in this case, one of my own invention.
It works like a champ for deburring small jewelry sized holes, and I use
it constantly.
L’Art Statue
I love the stylized naiveté of this piece. It serves as a
reminder of how far our perspective on art and its intent has shifted in the
last 100 years.
Pan Flute
I approach our entire house as one big art project that I
have been working on for the last 33 years. It is a reaction to the often
sterile interiors I encounter in modern architecture and a conscious attempt to
encrust the entire interior surface of the house with art and decoration. In
this case, the space under the kitchen sink. The project will never be
finished.
Sharky
A trifecta of meaning - a gift from Corliss, an allusion to
yet another inside joke, and an acknowledgment of a remark we have heard from
visitors to our home. “Looks like a
cross between the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Addam’s Family house.”
Yep.
Balinese Wood Carving
A masterwork of Balinese wood carving acquired from a
prominent California collector who needed to “clear some space”. These folks
were only slightly ahead of us on the way to encrusting the entire interior
surface of their home and were quite happy to help us out with our
project.
Cast Iron Skillet
Passed to Corliss from her grandmother, it has been in
constant use for at least three generations. Not many things made today will ever be able to say as much.
** Blog Carnival is a collective ongoing project of EtsyMetal Team, an international group of metalsmiths and jewelry designers. Each month, members share their perspective on a common topic, giving you the reader a comparative view into the creative mind.
