Sisters and Sea Stones

Last May, my siblings and I, along with our spouses, spent about a week at the Oregon Coast.  It was somewhat bittersweet, as one of my sisters has cancer, and we wanted to spend some time with the four siblings together, Just in Case.

We talked about all sorts of things, laughed together (enjoying the humor that our family all seems to share), shared our dreams, hopes and fears, and reveled in just being together and in the beauty of creation and the raw power of the crashing waves.  We talked about our parents, and the things that had shaped us into the people that we have grown up to be.  We probed our differences, and came away with a renewed affirmation of our love and commitment to each other in light of (and in spite of) them.

Retaliation for my taking their photo!

One day, as I was walking on the beach with two of my sisters, we found a few stones that I thought might work for my crocheted Sea Stone Paperweights.  We brought them back to our beach house, and set them on the table for the rest of our stay.  We talked a bit about the paperweights I have been making from stones I pick up on the beach.

After our return, I realized that I had been staying at the beach with three sisters (well, technically two sisters and a sister-in-law), and I had picked up three rocks to use for Sea Stone Paperweights.  It seemed meant to be...I would make a paperweight for each of them, as a memento of our time together.

The paperweights are created by crocheting around the stone with a fine crochet thread and a tiny hook.  It can be a bit tricky getting the crochet to fit nicely on the stone.  But I'm finding that making these little gems is a bit like eating potato chips...I keep wanting to make just one more!

Here are the paperweights, each designed with a specific sister in mind.

I suppose I should have made one for my brothers, who were also there...sorry, Ray (and Tim!).  They seemed more like a sisters' thing.

I plan to ship each of these off to a sister over the next couple months.

I hope they like them!

I am getting ready to list some Sea Stone Paperweights in my Etsy shop.  Watch for them!  They would make a wonderful gift for the person who has everything.

Cross-Pollination

Inspiration from Other Art Forms

Sometimes, I find inspiration in things that have been created by others, often in totally different media.  My husband and I recently made a badly-needed day trip to the Oregon Coast, and visited a couple of our favorite shops there.  We have been fans of these shops for over 30 years now, and always enjoy browsing the beautifully crafted products they contain.  Today's post is about the first of these shops.

Alder House is the studio of Buzz and Anne Williams.  They, along with a few other artists, create gorgeous hand-blown glass objects in their studio just south of Lincoln City.  The studio has windows at eye level, with wide sills for display of the glass, so that the light shines through it and makes it glow.

Seeing the brightly colored shiny glass glowing in the sunlight always inspires me.  I want to create this kind of glowing color in my textile projects!



Alder House is more than just a gallery of objets d'art, though.  It is a working studio, in which the artisans create the objects that will be sold there.  The artist demonstrates his craft in front of the visitors, explaining what he is doing and why.  As much as I enjoy drooling over the gorgeous glass display, I cannot resist watching the artist at work, even though I have watched this process many times over the years.  It is somewhat mesmerizing to watch the twirling glass at the end of the blower's rod take shape, almost always in a rather surprising way.

This time, we got to watch glassblower Treasure Collupy create a glass starfish.  Here he is heating the starfish towards the end of the process:

Here's another shot of the starfish.  In this one, I believe he's smoothing the points at the end of the starfish's legs.

Of course, the color of the starfish will be very different when it has cooled.  I believe this one will be green and blue!

And now, for a sampling of the vibrant colors and graceful shapes of Alder House glasswork:

I hope you have enjoyed the tour as much as I did.  The question now, is, how will this affect my creations in fiber and yarn?  How will it affect yours??