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.

I LOVE my Boobs- part deux

Confused? Read "I LOVE MY BOOBS PT 1" first! 
I have been thinking about it for a long time now, and I have finally decided to iron out my boobs. Yes.. It has to be done. It will be the finishing touch on a long obsession with one of my most favorite artworks of all time. They've been with me for a very long while but I figured it was time to close an old chapter of my life and start a new one. They really didn't suit me in college, anyways.  Wanting to see pictures of my "ironed out boobs?" Here ya go...

A PERFECT PAIR OF BOOBIES...

Hmm, not what you were expecting? Don't get mad at me, nature made them that way.
These are blue footed boobs. They're seabirds that live on the Galapagos islands. As the legend is told (Aka Wikipedia), they were named by the Spanish word Bobo, which means "stupid or foolish."  Boobs are also known for their unusual mating dance, which involves a march-like ritual where both boobs literally show off how blue their feet are.

They are the weirdest seabirds ever, and I'm fascinated with them. To me, they represent not only fertility but our ridiculous pursuit of love that we all partake in,  a dance of desperation and hope that someone will finally notice our colors. (Ok, and also I read Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut and if you havent read it yet you need to!) To this day I will even admit that the blue footed booby is my "spirit animal." Something about this unusual creature inspires me to no end.

So anyways, way back in 2007 and 2008, I went through a phase where I became obsessed with this animal. I drew it very often, making it the subject of many study sketches and even a few projects, including a major painting:

"Boobs in Love" Acyrlics

As stated earlier, I was heavily influenced by Kurt Vonnegut's book Galapagos. Especially this poem he wrote in the book, which I will share with you as I show some of my blue footed booby sketches:

“Of course I love you,
So let's have a kid.
Who will say exactly
What its parents did;
"Of course I love you,
So let's have a kid.
Who will say exactly
What its parents did;
ts parents did;
"Of course I love you,
So let's have a kid.
Who will say exactly
What its parents did; 
'Of course I love you,
So let's have a kid.
Who will say exactly
What its parents did;
'Of course I love you,
So let's have a kid
Who will say exactly
What its parents did;
'Of course I love you,
So let's have a kid 
Who will say exactly  
What its parents did -'"   
Ect...

This sketch also includes the endless poem. It really left an impact on me as I worked on my boob projects.

Aside from the poem, the sketches and painting I did inspired me to push my series farther. As the concept sketch on the right implies, my original idea was to do a pillow companion piece for my painting. However,  I quickly realized that my fabric companion piece would be unique enough to stand on its own.
When I first began working on it, I knew very little about fiber arts, especially sewing techniques and applique. I didn't even know what applique was. In my frustration, I began haphazardly sewing without any rhyme or reason. 

The idea transformed from a companion pillow to a piece that allowed me to work with "no rules," just my pure artistic instincts. This method of reckless creation is very liberating, and I suggest you try it. Too often do artists get caught up in the little details of their artwork, consumed by the pursuit of lucidity and perfection. Not every art piece you do has to be "by the book." Sometimes, instead of following the so-called rules of your craft, your work can be created by just doing what feels natural. Just let go, and enjoy the process. It's not about how nice it looks, but how it was created.

I believe that it was this idea of lawless creation that propelled me to work on my Boobs for so long. I worked on them for about 3 years, most of my time in high school. By my senior year my peers knew very well how much I loved my project. Some friends even gave me the (somewhat unflattering) nickname "Boobs" because of this! I'm going to believe that's why they called me that, at least. 
The most incredible thing to me was how open minded my teachers were about the whole thing. In a world post Columbine, public schools state their Zero Tolerance policies for any items that could be misconstrued as weapons, including anything from guns to butter knives. Apparently, large sewing needles didn't count in this category. 

How I transported my boobs- I simply rolled them up.

In my years of school I had never once been confronted by a school official about my somewhat dangerous tool. Not only that, but I was never even told to put my boobs away. Sometimes I would sew my little project literally all day, through note taking, lectures and presentations. I imagine they were just happy I was alert and paying attention, and wasn't sleeping on my desk like the rest of the kids. 

My Boobs also served as intense therapy for me when I was stressed. It got me through my first nasty breakup, which was a very painful time in my life. I dare say that my boobs helped save my life. It was something I could do to occupy my time instead of dwelling over bad thoughts. In fact, studies have shown that sewing actually lowers your blood pressure and improves your mood. I didn't know this at the time, I just knew it felt good to do something so repetitive, and the results were very rewarding. 

The sewing was done mostly in regular black thread. Some parts, like the outlines, have been sewn so intensely that the needle will no longer penetrate the fabric. Other parts have been textured by the string. The negative space in the leafy moss details, for example,  has been completely covered in black thread, leaving the leaves puckered and raised 3 dimensionally.

 The wings and back have also been heavily sewn in to. On these parts I used browns and grays, trying to keep true to the Blue Footed Booby design. Many of the fabrics I used were recycled scraps. I even used a piece of a white waffle knit thermal t-shirt, as you can see on the boobs' chests. To my amazement, these fabrics still remain pristine white, even after countless fingers and hands have felt its texture.




However, to truly enjoy my Boobs you just have to see the back of this piece. Behind the scenes, so to speak, reveals the chaos of my method of sewing:

The white stuff is from a gluestick. To keep the threads tight, I glued them down instead of knotting.

Eventually, as my sewing skills improved, I didn't have to glue my threads down anymore. They just stayed where they were put.

This piece has got me through thick and thin, and although I am sad to see it be finished, I truly think it's time to move on now. As you can see, there isn't much left for me to sew anyways unless I was to go for covering the entire work with thread. In conclusion, I encourage you to start your own blue footed boob project. Start a project where there is no deadline to finish. Put it down for a few months and pick it up again. Throw caution to the wind and create something reckless. Run off of emotion, not perfection.  Try a medium you aren't familiar with, and go off of instinct instead of specific directions on how to use that medium. Trust your artistic eye. You may discover something new, and most likely it will be about yourself. And remember, art doesn't have any rules.

Fishy Bone Keychain

This unusual fish keychain will gladly keep watch over your keys for you.

   At a glance: 

• Handmade keychain
• Fish shape
• Available in red, green, yellow, red, grey, orange, blue and purple. (Contact me to query about additional colors)
• Hand stenciled “fish bones” with acrylics
• 2 neon googly eyes
• Circular key ring with suede like twine
• Filled with store grade sand
• Heat pressed
• Each fish is slightly different

The Fishy Bone Keychain...

The fish itself is made of felt.  The felt is hand stenciled with a “fish bone” design in black acrylic paint. The stencil is later heat pressed for permanence and aesthetics.

The key ring is attached by black suede like twine, which is then sewn securely inside the felt.This piece is machine sewn around the edges with invisible thread. It has two neon colored googly eyes, one on either side of the fish. 

This keychain has been filled with store grand sand as opposed to poly fiber stuffing. It remains light weight and sturdy while giving the piece a unique feel. However, I would gladly make a fish with cotton stuffing upon request.

 Because they’re all different, each fish keychain’s measurements vary slightly. The fish themselves span approximately 4 inches long and are around 1 inch wide. The length of the key ring and twine are 2-3 inches on average.

This fish felt keychain is perfect for:

• Interesting gift for birthdays and holidays
• Adding personal style to a boring set of keys
• Showing someone your appreciation
• Sprucing up your purse or school bag

$7.00

 


Other posts where this item is mentioned...Here! and here!

Fishy Jamboree

These are my fishy keychains. I just find them so vibrant and full of personality. The inspiration came to me when I was searching for stencils on the web and found this very interesting fish bone design. It was easily adapted for practical use, and I was quickly stenciling a bunch of felt ready for my first "school of fish." The print turned out beautiful. I used just regular black acrylics and the paint is as solid and crisp as any expensive screen printing ink. Plus when they got heat pressed by the iron, the paint turned all shiny and smooth. It kind of bugs me that companies sell this overpriced "fabric paint" and "screen printing ink" when you can get the job done with half the price and hassle with a regular cheap batch of acrylic paint. But I digress. I ended up doing some experimentation and stuffed the entire batch of fish with sand. I think it works out GREAT. The sand is kind of squishy and coarse but still soft and flexible enough to use for a keychain. Although I will admit it was a pain in the ass to sew those poor fishies shut once they were full of sand. Erm, I hope sand won't ruin my sewing machine...
Anyways It would be totally worth it.

Oh, by the way, do you dig the new lightbox? Check out the pictures I was able to capture. GAH the lighting is Sooo much better. Note the first image was done outside and the harsh light from the sun kind of washes out all the details. But the second image was taken in my lightbox and it picks up every tiny hair on the felt.

Get a fishy keychain for yourself...

$7.00

My beloved boobs

This is another old tumblr post that needs to be here. My boobs are still a never ending work in progress. I promise new pictures very soon <3

Ok, I'll just come out and tell you this. I'm obsessed with my boobs.
It all began about a year and a half ago when I wanted an art project that was purely just for me. At the time I was doing a lot of art junk for school and I was frustrated with the rigidity of my assignments..  Lots of boring things like still lifes and charcoal value studies. I wanted something that had no guidelines, no time limit, and no technical difficulty.
So I created my booby project.
Blue footed booby project, to be more specific.
  

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a blue footed booby. And it happens to be one of my favorite animals of all time.

I don't know what it is exactly about the boob that makes me like it so much. Is it the bright blue feet? It's crazy ritualistic mating dance? It's probably just because I can use the "boob pun joke" over and over. It never gets old for me.

Anyways, I used mostly scraps and even a little bit of a thermal t-shirt for the design itself. I hand sewed the pieces onto my base fabric. I just use a regular sewing needle and plain cotton thread on everything.

"My boobs" quickly turned therapeutic. Any time I feel idle or anxious I bring them along wherever I am and work on them. The repetition of the sewing motion is strangely calming.  Slowly, over the past year and a half, I have managed to outline the boobs themselves in a thick black line. I've sewn these areas so much that the needle won't penetrate anymore. The rocks,  grassy moss stuff, and backround scenerey are also all heavily sewn into. The only thing that I used the sewing machine on was the outside border.

It's amazing to me how long I have dedicated to my self to this project. It probably has to be the longest I have ever worked on a piece, and still to this day I'm working on it all the time. I'm still not finished.