Short Story Long

Back in January, I spent some time with Scott, a luthier.   You might wonder what a luthier is; he is a maker of stringed instruments . At one time, I had a boyfriend with a roommate whose step-dad made guitars.  When I started my artists and craftsmen series , I knew I had to include him.  My boyfriend, (who has stuck around many years after marrying me) thought it was a good idea; so here's a little of what I experienced on a wintry day with a luthier who makes stringed things by hand.  Literally, he carved on an archtop guitar while we talked.   He built the guitar and the harp in the first picture, most pieces carved from blocks of wood.  Other things he does by hand: fills out receipts (on paper), writes books (in notebooks), plays guitar.  And I will admit, I was pretty enamored to meet someone who still has a phone that is  completely attached to the wall.  I really enjoyed talking to this kindred spirit; we...

Third in my artists and craftsmen  series. Some weeks ago, my friend, artist  Susan Schmitt , allowed me to spend a morning with her, observing and photographing her as she painted, her inspirations, methods, tools and techniques. With a fresh bouquet of flowers from the garden as inspiration, she transformed a piece of white paper into a lovely expression of summer beauty.  She explained to me that different projects require levels of time and emotion investment.  Some are "show dogs," and some are like a family dog - sometimes a person admires piece but it is not the right investment for them, but everyone should be able to live with art.  Susan draws, carves, stamps, paints, subtracts, redraws, and works til her vision comes together.  She creates everything from printed cards and journals to one-of-a-kind dolls, too.    She journals with watercolors - sometimes, while her husband is driving!   ...

Continuing my photo project on artists and craftsmen, allow me to introduce you to Marilyn, of Black Water Abbey Yarns .  Marilyn and I were introduced by mutual friends (who knit) and since then, I have had the opportunity to photograph some of her beautiful pattern collections.  Marilyn distributes high quality wool directly from Ireland, so it is no surprise that many of her patterns feature elegant cable work.   Through the process of photographing her work, I have had the opportunity to get to know Marilyn as a person and an artist.  As she travels to yarn and fiber shows around the country, Marilyn sells not only her own beautiful yarn and patterns, but also a selection of items such as cards, soap, and pins, from small-business artists.  In other words, she is helping the creative women around her, too.  Whenever we meet up to transfer projects, I walk away from our conversations feeling newly inspired.   I am pleased tha...

Like many crafters, I have lots of projects in the works.  One of my current projects is a personal little photo essay, if you will, on artists and craftsmen.  This involves finding such people, and then convincing them they should be photographed.  (This has proven a little more challenging than I had expected.  I think many artists have a difficult time sharing or explaining their process.)  The idea for this project came simply from my appreciation of all the people I've encountered over the last five or ten years who, like me, enjoy making things with their hands.  I've met everyone from dyers and spinners to car fabricators, wood workers, painters, and more. Of course, I am not the first person to think of this.  Check out the Craftsman's Legacy  for a fascinating video series on everything from handmade clocks to long bows. I'm working a little closer to home, though, with Jessica, a quilter.  Jessica heard about my ...

I have some handcrafted gifts (knitted and otherwise) that I can't show you, but here are a few items I can!   After discovering that sock blockers are not always easy to find in local shops, I talked my dad into making some for a yarn shop near me.  Aren't these neat?  They are made from a Colorado pine that was destroyed by beetle kill .  Interestingly, the disease  gives the wood this lovely silvery-blue quality.  Normally pine is more yellowish like the stripe in the toe, here.  Beetle kill has claimed over two million trees in Colorado.  We heard a lot about it on the news a few years ago, and one could drive down the highway and see waves of brown in our normally green hillsides.  It is no longer a hot topic and we don't hear it on the news much anymore.  My dad is also making some sock blockers from (non-beetle kill) dead pine which was cleared out to reduce the fire danger to the live tre...

I'm showing my dad how easy it is to blog. Here's a shot of another of his tables.