Eggs and Nests

We have been making nests and our vintage paper covered eggs for some time now and we are forever heartened that they are still one of our most popular handmade products.

The aged patina of the papers and maps combined with the simple and beautiful egg shape is a constant joy to work with and moulding and shaping the foraged vines into nests continues to fascinate us.  Both processes are quite meditative. We love the way each nest takes it's own shape and with the addition of feathers, moss, fern fronds, twigs and berries each nest is quite unique.

Our eggs and nests are currently available at Gather Handmade in Hobart and The Black Hen in Deloraine and the eggs are also available on our Bigcartel store.

collections

My daughter and I are part bowerbirds and part serious collectors so we are writing some posts throughout the coming year about collections - ours and those belonging to others. The first 'collection' post starts with the letter 'S' 

                         Suitcase:

Who doesn't love an old suitcase? Such wonderful recepticles in which to store all manner of things in an easily transportable and stackable way! Each case full of memories and stories - the holder of our secrets.

We love the way suitcases open up a new world when the lid is opened. After a quick search on google and pinterest we found so many wonderful creative ways that artists have used suitcases in their work. The next photographs are just two extraordinary examples of suitcase art.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/314970567665385139/

http://laughingsquid.com/memory-suitcases-paintings-on-old-luggage/

In the photo series "Memory Suitcases' by Israeli artist Yuval Yairi, she has painted images of faraway places onto old suitcases. Yairi has then placed the painted suitcases in different landscape settings and photographed them.

I have always loved the cover of this beautiful novel with the richly painted suitcase ready to travel. 

So many ideas to think about! Imagine finding some old suitcases at the secondhand store and transforming them using mixed media like paint, old maps, stamps, letters and photographs. It would be wonderful to create a 'small world' inside a suitcase for a child to play with and explore - a tiny dolls house or perhaps one side could be a room and the other a secret garden. You could make a suitcase into a large book that folds out when the case is open or divide it into sections to store tiny treasures or collections. We will be on the lookout over the next few weeks to find a small case that we can transform into a unique art work.  In the meantime our own collection of favourite suitcases continues to bring us joy as something beautiful to look at as well a being a wonderful storage solution!