A couple days ago Iris, my suitemate, surprised me with an awesome handmade gift. As a testament her origami beastliness, she filled a glass ornament with a ton of miniature stars. What’s more, she made several more of these filled ornaments for others. This dedication to paper crafting inspired me to get going on a project of my own. I must also note, these stars call for a shout out to Sofia, another crafting goddess.
And the forces of crafting inspiration continued today, when I voyaged to Cambridge with Erin and Sophia. We went with the intentions of getting ice cream mochi and wandering around the outrageously overpriced shops. We happened upon a crafts festival at what seemed to be a crafters guild in two seemingly historic, converted houses. I got so excited looking at all the jewelry, clay, woodworking, knitting, visual art, and upcylced trinkets. I particularly liked one artist’s work, which was my favorite example of the gyotaku that I’ve come across. Gyotaku is the Japanese art of fish printing, where the artist uses an actual fish’s scales as an ink stamp. I’ve attempted this using a faux-fish made out of silicone, but my attempts came out as pathetic smudges of failure. Personally, I would never want to attempt the authentic method using a real dead fish, because this would be revolting. Clearly this artist doesn’t mind handling dead creatures of the ocean, and she jazzes up this morbid art form with watercolor additions:
After this, we went in search of yarn so that Erin can take up crocheting. We learned of a yarn shop called Gather Here, which is in an area of Cambridge that is more residential than the Harvard Square T-stop. This small, independently owned shop had quality yarn and fabric offerings, albeit 2 to 3 times more expensive than a typical craft store. The comfy couches for group knitting, as well as the tray of home-made cookies, gave the shop a welcoming community vibe. I ended up getting two small skeins of yarn, one coral-colored and one midnight blue, to possibly make a headband. I plan on returning here next semester to take one of their many class offerings.
Overall, today was a fabulously fruitful day of wondering around Cambridge. I can’t wait for my three craftathon weeks of Christmas break.
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