Commissioned Spoon

Just finished this jam spoon for a commission. It was hand forged from sterling silver and is 5" long.

Seiwa-en

Maybe the best thing about working for Mobot is that I get to take classes for free.
Tuesday night I took the walking tour of Seiwa-en, the Garden's 14 acre Japanese strolling garden. It is the largest garden of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. It's my favorite place in the garden because it's so peaceful and cleanly kept.
It also happens to be where my favorite mossy knoll can be found.

I may have gotten carried away...

I have 36 containers on my back porch right now--I'm growing cherry tomatoes, basil, peppers, lettuce, sage, rosemary, lavender, mint, stevia, strawberries and dill. I'm excited about it, though.

Hanging strawberry garden...hopefully.

Filled this hanging produce basket with strawberry plants today. I'm a little concerned about the baskets withstanding the weight of the plants and dirt and water, but it was worth a shot, so we'll see.

And growing, and growing, and...

My seedlings are doing well I think. I was going to transplant them to pots this week, but the weather cooled down so I'll be waiting.

Gearing up

I'll be participating in Webster Grove's Art and Air craft show this June, which means I have been working like a dog in the studio trying to make stuff--alot of stuff, since my inventory was getting a little light.
My arms are feeling it.

The video of my most recent grooming tool study

see the still images here. This study features a tool designed for foot grooming and mascara brushes that I attached to chains so they could swing freely.

A little cactus with a pink flower(s) on it.

To be honest, I bought this while it was blooming, so I can't take credit for them. But I hope I can make it do this again!

Lovely

This beautiful tree is blooming a couple houses down from me right now. Does anyone know what kind of tree it is?

My own, private, Idaho.

*Pictured: the dozen (surviving) spoons I have made since 2004

In graduate school, my advisor once referred to the spoons I'd made as "my own private Idaho." I understood that to mean that I made them only for myself, although I recently learned that is also the name of a movie staring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves.

Anyway, I couldn't argue with her because it's true that I can't submit the spoons I've made to exhibitions; they aren't special enough. And I can't sell them either, partly because I don't want to part with them, but mostly because they take too long to make and people won't pay what I would have to charge. I don't blame them--I couldn't spend $75 or $100 on a single teaspoon.

I nonetheless feel compelled to continue making spoons, despite the material costs and time involved. I have felt guilty about doing it at times because it seems like I should be spending whatever studio time I have on "serious," or at least money-making, work.
Then, a couple weeks ago I decided to work on some self-portrait sketches while I watched TV in the evenings. That made me think about artists who have done hundreds or thousands of self-portraits over their careers. I've started to think that since I'm not really a 2-D artist at all, spoons are sort of like self-portraits for me.
They represent a simple and relatively uniform subject that can be interpreted in thousands of different ways. Making spoons by forging is difficult and though I've made many more than the ones pictured (the bad ones get scrapped) I still don't feel like I'm very good at it.

I know painters can exhibit their self-portraits and I'll most likely never have an exhibition of my spoons, but there's still something I want to learn about making them. And I keep thinking that someday, maybe I'll be glad I spent my time this way.

Grow, Baby, Grow!

Baby lettuce, that is. These are my lettuce seedlings and I'm pretty proud of them. I think they look good enough to eat! ;-)

Evolution

The starting piece was a little over 3" long, and about 5/16" thick. It took about 15 hours, spread over 4 days to finish.

Went to The Butterfly House for Morpho Mania this weekend. Here're some pictures my brother took.

New Sculpture

The handle is called a "foot machine" and it came with different attachments for trimming one's feet. The brush heads are from mascara brushes--I've recently started noticing the strange shapes and styles of mascara brushes. They spin around when the handle is turned on.

The Incomparable City Museum

At least, I can't compare it to any place I've been. Except maybe Disney World, but at the City Museum you can climb on ALL the stuff, which cannot be said about Disney World.

The top two images show views from the top of these massive spiral staircases inside the building. If you survive the hike up the, I don't know, dozen or so floors, you take a spiral slide back down.

The bottom image shows how some of the walls have been tiled in old metal printing plates. Such a cool idea.

Visiting this place is like getting to pretend you're in the movie The Goonies, and that has real resonance for anyone my age.

A Micro Harvest

I'm finally able to harvest some of my tasty micro greens. I ate these with a little rice vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper. I feel healthier already.

Introducing my New Website-

Thank you to my wonderful husband!

www.coreyackelmire.com

It may not be spring outside...

But I have tiny green things growing inside!

Meet my micro greens, growing happily in our basement thanks to the florescent light hung by my loving husband.

Special Order

Mailed out this necklace, designed to match these earrings, to a woman in California this week.

Coveting

I looove these baby animal pictures from Sharon Montrose's Etsy shop.