get your art on!

Yesterday was the first day of Boxmaking, my last class at Yestermorrow. The instructors, Skip and Lizbeth, are brilliant wood workers, carpenters, and house builders. They are talented folk who are great at teaching and pretty much just piles of amazing.
I forgot how good it feels to be in class- to have someone teach me concrete skills, to learn and to feel knowledgeable, capable and competent.

Yesterday we all made a box with the same sides, front and back pieces then got to create our top and bottom pieces how ever we wanted. My box is made of Butternut (a beautiful softer hardwood) that has beautiful little worm holes all over the majority of the wood. It is put together with butt joints and pegs, has a curly maple bottom set in with a dado ( a ridge that it is inset in to- see photo below) and a hand carved Butternut lid- I'm still deciding how to attach the lid. I'll post photos of the completed boxes.

Today I'm planning on making a few bandsaw boxes, a simple way to make a larger chunk of wood in to a fun sculptural box- I like them because it feels more organic and flowing in shape than one can do with a box that has to be measured, and square and precise...

And the frosting on Yesterday wa last night, the 6th annual Art Auction at the school.
A combination silent and live auction, then event is one of the school's largest each year and turned out to be quite a success! It was wonderful to see old friends, former interns, favorite instructors and other folk in the 'Yesterfamily' come together for the evening, and see all of the hard work and hours and hours of organizing come to fruition. Above is a photo of the walnut earrings I donated to the silent auction. (Photo credit to Tonia)
Earrings are the art I am creating most consistently these days. I love making earrings, I like the small scale of jewelry making, and this year has been the first time I have tried jewelry making out of wood. Ihave some plans up my sleeve to start selling them in the near future...stay tuned.

Happy sunday!