MadRetz and I spent all day Saturday at the studio of Sharon Wheat, a local fiber
artist who creates wonderful pieces called Universal Totems. We met Sharon at a juried art & craft show at Fort Mason in San Francisco, spent some time in conversation, and were invited her studio. Sharon's work is amazing...mysterious, thought provoking, inspirational and we were so excited to get to play in the place where she creates her art.
The base of the piece is a wooden blank in a long triangular shape, about 2 feet long and 2 inches across at its widest. I covered mine in beige raw silk and then wrapped it with a piece of cheesecloth that had been tea dyed and stiffened in various places with glue.
The stone was attached as the head and then I added the embellishments, which included shells, freshwater pearls, bone, frayed waxed linen (Sharon calls them nerve endings, so descriptive!), a glass bottle with a secret message inside and bone beads.
Click on the images for a larger, more detailed view, altho' the photos don't do the piece justice. MadRetz's spirt stick also turned out beautifully. Hopefully, she will post hers too!!!
5 comments:
I love these. I've seen them in Gatlinburg, but I never thought I could do one myself. Yours turned out beautifully, and what fun to get to spend time with an actual totem maker.
P.S. I don't think I ever told you how beautifully you "stage" your photographs. Very professional.
How fun! I should try that with the kids this summer.
Cate - Thanks for the compliment. I originally photographed the piece on a white wall, but that ended up too monochromatic.
FarmWife - That is such a great idea! I think I'll suggest it to my sis (teacher) and to the lady that runs my favorite volunteer project/craft day at the local library.
I just love how the cheese cloth flows!
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