The Sea Shell Wind Chime

AKA "The Bone Chime"

I am excited to finally reveal a brand new wind chime! I created this one out of sea shells and drift wood that I found at a recent trip to Charleston's own Folly Beach this summer. I call it my "Bone Chime" because the sound of the shells kind of sounds like bones clanging up against each other... not like I would know what that sounds like or anything.

"The Bone Chime"

I was fascinated by the variety of sea shells available at Folly Beach this summer. There were so many of them to choose from, in all sorts of different shapes and sizes. At the time, I wasn't quite sure what project I was going to do with them, but I was particularly attracted to the shells with holes in them. It was like these shells were created especially for artists- all ready for neatly stringing through wire for jewelry making. Or perhaps, like in my case, even making a wind chime.

I wanted to find out how these "magical" holes turned up in those shells in the first place. I figured they were formed by being worn down by the ocean or as a natural process for their species. Boy, how naive I was.

Other shells had their inhabitants plucked out by birds-
these shells had jagged chunks missing instead
of the perfect and uniform bores of the moon snails.

After doing a little research, I find it kind of ironic that something beautiful can be made out of something so brutal.

Here's a brief explanation by M. Paul Monfils-

"Such holes are caused by predatory snails, usually in the family Naticidae (commonly called "moon snails")... They use their radula, a sort of tongue covered with tiny toothlike projections, to rasp a hole in the [shell,] allowing them to insert their proboscis and feed on the soft parts..."

I read on to discover that this process is also painfully slow-

"A shell two millimeters thick (approximately the distance across the top of the letter w) can take eight hours to penetrate..."

According to these facts, not only were the shells eaten alive, but they were practically tortured by the moon snails in the long, drawn out process of being devoured.

Knowing this morbid fact about the shells made me feel somewhat remorseful for using them in such a whimsical way. But at the same time, I felt it had given these poor creatures some sort of extra purpose besides being a small snack for a snail. 

In a way, this truly is a bone wind chime because it is made from the "bones" of the unfortunate mollusks that didn't get to continue living their little clammy lives.

Unconventional drift wood was used for the base of this wind chime.

On a more positive note, I also found this beautiful piece of "drift wood" at Folly as well. I guess technically it's drift wood- the beach didn't have much to offer when it came to traditional pieces of wood. This is actually a shard of palmetto leaf, which are plentiful around the Lowcountry.  When I found it, I thought it was a piece of a wooden dock that had some how washed up on the beach. The surface of the branch's pale white color looks like it has been hand painted. I find it kind of beautiful how nature finds ways to mimic the artistic process, even if it's sort of harsh about it some times.

The shell bone wind chime posing outdoors with an unfortunate duo... a pair of snails.

The Junk Windchime

The other day I got inspiration from an unlikely source. 

A crushed Budweiser beer can circa 1970.

My dad just randomly walked up to me and handed me this old, dirty, crushed up beer can. At first I was (naturally) confused, but then he explained the significance of this strange artifact- it's a classic Budweiser can from the 1970's.  You can tell how old it is by its use of a pull tab mechanism which haven't been used on beer cans in over 30 years. The idea that the can had endured for so long was incredible to me... It's almost twice my age and there's no telling how much it had already been through in its lifetime. For a piece of junk, that's pretty impressive.

 In a weird way, I have respect for this can.  I just had to do an artwork that implemented this gnarly artifact in one way or another.

My found objects
wind chime.

 That's where the wind chime idea came to mind. The crushed can wasn't the only strange piece of metal to accumulate in my area. I went out and searched for more "debris" and found many more fascinating trinkets and pieces. My dad also helped by donating some more metal pieces he found while at work. I raided my bead collection and found even more tiny embellishments to add. With my wind chime, I wanted to take these average, bits of industrial trash and transform them into a functional work of art. I think there is something especially inspiring about giving purpose to things that are normally considered useless junk.

This project was kind of different for me because I don't have much experience with building sculptures out found object. I usually just stick to two dimensions, so there was definitely a learning curve. It was kind of crazy to be so "hands on" with my work.. I had to thoroughly handle each piece, including all the rust, dirt and grime that came along with it. I also implemented a large amount of aluminum wiring, which is another material that is still somewhat foreign to me. Because of this, I had to be a little bit more resourceful with my tools. This time, I actually had to use pliers, crimps and wire cutters to get the effects I wanted in my artwork!

The finished result reminds me of a nest that an overzealous bird would build- Scavenging from bits and pieces of every shiny or colorful fragment it could find.

To string my objects on, I used old junk chains from broken jewelry I have accumulated over the years. They were perfect for the "industrial" theme I was trying to go for, and was great for attaching the charms too.

Some of my favorite components of the wind chime include these two "evil eyes" made from some more 1970's pop tabs.

 I like to think that they ward off evil whenever the wind blows.

Charms that I used in my wind chime include various bottle caps, metal cogs, buckles and broken glass bottles. It was an interesting challenge having to"beautify" each scrap, each thing required something a little different. Some things, like the glass shards for example, didn't need much decoration at all. They already look like shiny shards of crystal.

I even used charms on my charms!

. It started with a cruddy old beer can, but ended with a new found respect for discarded objects. Just about anything can be beautiful if shown in the right light.

My new found objects wind chime hanging out  on the trellis.

The Phoenix

The mythical firebird Phoenix lives in cycles of 1,000 years at a time. Nearing the end of this cycle, the phoenix ignites in a blaze of flames and completely burns itself to ashes. From those very ashes a young, refreshed phoenix emerges, reborn again to live for another 1,000 years.

Just making an update about a very personal artwork I've been working on recently. It's a phoenix done in a rather "traditional" medium for me, colored pencil. I wasn't sure how crazy I could get with my materials this time because it's a gift to my cousin who is currently incarcerated.  

I guess I should explain the situation a little further.  I usually don't share bummer stories like this, but it's so astonishingly sad that I feel like it should be put out there just so that people know it happens. My cousin (and my family in general) has had a very rocky couple of years. It began with the death of our grandparents, who both passed within 5 years of each other. They were the "glue" that really kept my family together. My cousin was especially close to my grandparents as they were major influential figures in his life.  Then, to make matters worse, his mom gets diagnosed with breast cancer. As she was going through chemo, my cos got "mixed up in the wrong crowd" so to speak and was influenced to make mistakes that will now cost him years of freedom. His mom passed away while he was in jail. Can you imagine what this must feel like?

My cousin is only 17.  He still has an entire lifetime ahead of him...

As an artist, I regularly give people artwork as gifts all the time, but for obvious reasons I tried to make this piece especially meaningful. The phoenix mythology has always been attached to the symbolism of rebirth and renewal, which is the only positive thing that can come out of tragic situations like these. I hope that this can at least encourage my cousin to move forward with his life and have the strength to start anew. We are all given the chance to move beyond our past if we put fourth the effort to do so.