What do I do when I wake up to temperatures like this?
I stay inside and update my Etsy shop. That is just what I did yesterday. I had a few brooches completed so I took a few photos and added them to my shop. I have a few other pieces in the works (new stuff!) and will be adding them to the shop sometime next week.
Yesterday's additions were brooches, a few birch bark pieces and a few oak and wool.
I was glad to have some time out in the barn last week to cut wood because with these temperatures there's no way I could stand out there and work. The pole barn is unheated and my fingerless gloves just don't provide the warmth I need. My gloves actually started off with fingers but suffered one too many run-ins with the belt sander so they are now mostly fingerless. (thank goodness I'm not)
Each of these wood brooches has been cut from a downed branch that I've hauled out of the woods. All of these are oak which is a nice sturdy wood to work with. I cut them, shape them, sand them, drill them, wax them, and embroider them. I gather the birch bark myself and then peel it into layers and use it as a veneer. I make the wool felt by hand. It's a labor of love.
It's important to me that these feel natural and unique. I want them to feel like something plucked from the forest floor. I cut them in organic shapes and leave angles and planes on the wood to remind the hand that holds it that it is handmade.
I can't wait to share what else I'm working on. Soon.
What are you working on this weekend?
20 comments:
Oh my God! -30ºC??? really? and you are still alive? :)
warm hugs for you
meni :*
when i saw actual air temp where you live on the news yesterday i did a little freak out at the -45they were showing. did it not get that low? made me wonder about those deer from your previous post. i know they're meant to survive this kind of stuff, but it can't be easy.
your brooches certainly LOOK like a labor of love. that is what makes all your work so special Lisa. can't wait to see what else you're creating.
stay warm. xx
meni - :D Yep, still alive. I'm just huddled in front of the fire, that's all.
Kristin - thank you so much. And no, we didn't see -45 but it was -29 when I woke up. It might have been colder with the windchill but I didn't dare look to see what that was. Some things are better left a mystery.
Wow! That is COLD! We were about 10 degrees warmer here this morning.
I love the new pieces you're working on. My favorite is the heart.
I can't wait to see what else you're up to.
That is the one thing about MN I don't miss Lisa. Our last winter there ('95) the temp down in the Cities was -45, wind chill -60 and we said that was enough. No more.
Love all your brooches! They are so pretty. You always do great work. :)
Dang that's cold! After reading this I will not complain about our cold. LOL my fingerless gloves had the same fate with my osilating sander heh. I am working on a wooden rooster for my kitchen wall this weekend but not when the football game is on LOL! Keep warm my friend.
Lisa, I would be inside the fireplace!! LOL
(this post in my blog is about a friend's giveaway, you can enter if you want)
xoxo
meni *
It is freezing here in Vermont, too--thought the sun is shining!
I am SO inspired by your work. I'm all melty for that little stump with just a patch of green moss on it. Just speaks to me!
Did you make the wooden mushroom that is in the picture with your heart embroidery? I have a set of three of these mushrooms that my daughter brought to me from Germany. I adore them. I also adore your work and photography. You have my utmost admiration.
-20 you are colder than her in Alaska. We are 30 degrees today. Such an interesting process you go through for your brooches. I love the heart it looks so organic.
Oh, those are so pretty. I love how you combine wood and wool. I have never been a brooch person but I think yours are starting to turn me. Stay warm!
I totally love that heart brooch! The colours, shape, mix of wood and felt...everything about it is so perfect.
first i need to pick up my lower jaw, i think it just hit by foot. You are extra, extra special.
Lisa, I love the brooch with the green felting - so much like moss! This is lovely work. Thanks for sharing your process.
I love your work. These are just stunning. They remind me so much of the north woods of MN where I grew up among birch and poplar. You have a such a great medium and lots of creativity.
Oh Lisa I clicked straight to your shop to pounce on that beautiful green heart but it wasn't there - please, please tell me there will be more! Keep warm :D
o my, thats COLD.
o my, those are real beauty's
I wasn't doing a lot this weekend. Sat before the fire. Read a bit. Strolled in the forest. Played some guitar. Played with my children...
Thanks so much, everybody! Your kind comments really mean a lot. I had no idea that little mossy heart would be so well-received! I dyed more wool yesterday so I could make a couple more.
Julianne - actually I found that at a yard sale this summer and being a mushroom fanatic, couldn't pass it up. I just love it. How lucky you are to have more than one!
Greetje - that sounds like a fairly perfect day.
The monsters really really love these! May we post some images of them or link them to our site some time?
Hi Den Mother! I'm so glad the monsters like them! :D I'm flattered and would be delighted for a link. Thanks!
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