Our new home with BIG windows presents a rather large problem for flying things.
Over this past weekend I was introduced to the perils of large picture windows in a world of flying things. I heard three bird strikes in two days. No one was fatally injured, but I am sure there were some major headaches going on.
I know there are those sticker things you can put on the windows, in fact there where some there, but they were past their prime, and the birds no longer saw them. Since most of those graphics don’t really appeal to me, I jumped on the internet to see what other people were doing to stop the carnage.
One fellow in the UK offered the suggestion to use a white Posca® paint marker, and draw lines every 3 inches or so, vertically. According to him, this gives the birds the sense of flying near a cobweb, and they are dedicated to avoiding those. As a lover of birds, and a graphic designer, I liked this idea … which a twist of course. Why not make it a bit of fun.
So, I set out to draw the lines and create boxes every so often, which would be the names of birds we are seeing. After completing the first window, I am pretty excited about doing the other one!
Important to know, this is NOT permanent, it can be easily removed, which means, I can change it anytime I feel like it. Oh … the places I will go!!
Note: the misspelling of Steller’s Jay has been corrected!
The first pieces completed in the new studio! Ready for their new homes.
The table, named Mie, came from friend who no longer needed her. She is a lovely size, and as it turns out, underneath the dark stain of a typical Bombay Company piece, the grain of the wood was quite wonderful. I left it natural, with just a light stain to emphasize the beauty of the grain. She has very sweet feet too!
The other piece, also from the Bombay Company, was an antique store find. Of course I see it as a writing box, but apparently it is called a memory box. Beautifully finished inside in black velvet.
Both pieces chose my custom red paint, which I mentioned last time. Yes, I do like this colour on them!
Fewer, Better Things was recently brought to my attention again. I pondered getting it several years ago, and resisted … but then when it resurfaced, I paid attention, and I know why. It’s quite wonderful and it tells me that other people think about, appreciate and respect things the way I do.
Of course, the book itself, being about the quality of things, is beautifully presented and lovely to hold. The paper used inside is soft and generous in your fingers. For me, it completes the experience of what I am reading.
In the chapter Communities of Respect, Adamson says, “People often speak of the ‘tacit knowledge’ of craftsmanship, and for good reason. What happens when a maker, a tool, and a material come together is difficult to grasp from the outside, because it is intuitive and embodied.” YES, exactly!
In The Contact Zone, I loved this description: “… when we ignore our material environment, we are essentially forgetting who we are and where we came from. If we divorce ourselves from our collective memory of a place, we alienate ourselves from our surroundings and from people alike, choosing isolation over group identity.” I think we are all starting to understand this concept more fully afte the past few years of forced islolation.
The subtitle, which is actually set above the title is: The Hidden Wisdom of Objects. All in all, a very mindful read.
Fewer, Better Things
Glenn Adamson
Bloomsbury Publishing
2018
Making your own stickers … any way you want!
I create my own clear stickers for packaging. The reason I like clear is, they don’t “stick out” as much, they blend with their background.
I first started using them as return address labels, because the white labels just look hidious.
Now I use them to create a variety of stickers that I can use in a wide range of ways.
First I start with Avery Full Sheet Clear labels, this allows me to make any size or shape I want, and mix it up if I want to.
Since this materials works in both laser and inkjet, the fun is available to anyone!
How could you use this technique? And what might you put on your stickers?
photo by Wendy Morisseau
I love to find new ways to use things I already have.
Discovering a new use for my white Posca® markers was such fun, as was the clear stickers to enhance my mail. Learning new ways to work with things I have excites and energizes me. It must be why I watch people make things all the time online. Just to see how they go about it inspires me, even if they are working in a material that I never use.
It doesn’t matter what you work with, I think it is more important to know how you work. Are you in flow with your materials and process? It is something I learned from drawing and painting mandalas for so many years. Every single one I do teaches me something about what I am doing and why I am doing it.
May you have a rich and inspired week of discovery!
~sarah
Love all the ways you are finding new uses for your art supplies. The new pieces are lovely. I enjoyed reading about your new book acquisition. I may have to check it out myself. Keep up the great work!