Working on Thanksgiving

'Round here, a holiday often means the opportunity to get some extra time in the studio. I've been working like crazy on pins for the MysticSpiral Etsy Shop, shows, and a couple of trade deals that I'm working on. Yesterday and today, the focus was on Raku Spindle Whorl Pins. I did the torch work yesterday afternoon and spent the evening in front of the television wiring the mica disks onto the bronze pins. This afternoon, I finshed the pins by wiring the raku fired spindle whorl beads onto the fronts. I'm really pleased with the results.

I'll be working on Stoneware Spindle Whorl Pins in the next week or two and then it will be time to start the whole process over again.

One of the things that I love about making these pins is that I am intimately involved with every step of the process. From shaping the mud to make the beads to shaping the bronze rod in the flame of the torch, each pin has a lot of me in it. Each pin is a synthesis of my interests and my love for 3 media, clay, metal and fiber.

I feel such a personal attachment to each and every one of these pins. I had a picture in my head of what I wanted the pins to look like as I carved the clay to make the original spindle whorl beads. I love what I do and I feel so blessed that others, seeing my work, love it well enough to make it part of their lives or to give it as gifts to people that they care about. I could not continue to work the way that I do without the support of the people who take an interest in what I make.

After I finished the spindle whorl pins, I wandered back out to the studio to spend some more time at the torch. I had so much fun making my two face pins that I just couldn't wait to make more. I have the pins done for another half a dozen or so and will probably choose faces from my bead box and start wiring them together tomorrow during the day. It feels nice to be using the faces since I'm not sure when I'll have the time, patience, and energy for the dolls again. Between studio work and puppets, I'm feeling a little like I'm neglecting the Sprout. Fortunately, she seems to enjoy the results of my labors.