This week’s project was really special to me for several reasons. A few weeks ago while Breen and I were in New York City celebrating our first wedding anniversary, we were walking along the waterfront in Battery Park when Breen spotted an entire dock covered with driftwood that had washed up from all the heavy rain. We ran in to a nearby office building and grabbed a handful of umbrella bags which we then filled up with driftwood. It was one of those moments that I knew exactly what I wanted to make with my driftwood: a hand painted cityscape with carved out areas to place tea light candles. I wanted to honor both the special memory of our first wedding anniversary and the greatness of a city that lost so many on September 11th. We had to let the driftwood dry out pretty well for a few weeks before we could get this underway.
This project was also very special to me because Breen and I did this as a joint venture. He did all of the drilling and gluing and wood working; I painted the pieces of driftwood. Together we decided on how to place the pieces. Breen came up with the idea to put the Statue of Liberty on her own separate “island”. Every piece in our project is a piece of driftwood that we found that day in Battery Park. I made the crown on the Statue of Liberty with heavy card stock and Breen made a notch in the wood to secure it; I would have loved to make her crown out of tin. We worked on this together for hours last night and when we finished, we placed it on our fireplace mantel, lit the candles and smiled with satisfaction. Our driftwood creations hold wonderful memories we will never forget and there are no others exactly the same anywhere. I love getting creative with my husband. It really brings us together on all sorts of different levels. I’m so very grateful that Breen gets as excited as I do about these 52 Projects. I think this project made us both realize how nice it’s going to be to have our own space for woodworking one of these days.
Here's the back of the piece:
Here are two shots of the city at night :))
Breen working with his wood :))
What did you do this week?
~there is nothing more than time spent together working towards something...memories made and moments savoring eachothers talents and abilities...who would have thought except the minds of you two...i don't think i will look at driftwood ever the same...your city scape is a perfect piece to bring back the l♥ve you two hold for eachother and the memories of such...your anniversary and trip to new york...i think having the statue of liberty by herself is the perfect tribute to the hope she brings forth...wonderful project...the both of you! brightest blessings~
ReplyDeleteThey are beautiful. I haven't done anything for a while due to ill health, of both myself and Holiday Boy, but once we are on the mend I will start again. In the meantime it gives me pleasure to see what other people are doing.
ReplyDeleteIt was an honor to work together on this project. Your creative process is so inspiring. I loved being there at the moment of conception and then witnessing the gestation and birthing process. As soon as we found that wood you knew exactly what you wanted to create, and here it is. I'm so glad I could be a part of it all. I'll post my side of the story later in the day; I have an additional NYC driftwood project to share :)
ReplyDeleteVery impressive. I am always amazed how a person can get an idea, be creative and bring that idea to a realization. What makes this project even better is that it has so much meaning to you and that it was a team effort besides being practical and very beautiful :) Awesome!
ReplyDeleteThose are lovely and such a personal reminder of your trip, it's great sharing a project with someone close. :)
ReplyDeleteso neat! what a clever, clever idea!
ReplyDeleteThat's fantastic! I know it's personal and commemorates your trip and anniversary, but I'd buy that work in a heartbeat.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a special project!! Really great idea.
ReplyDeleteD and I also worked together on this week's project. It was really nice having him help me with it.
My post is up; better late than never. I had to wait for polyurethane to dry :)
ReplyDeleteJane, I love creating with you!
love the group project - and your painting - makes me smile
ReplyDeletewow! That's amazing!
ReplyDeletethese things are quite cool :)
ReplyDeletehttp://laughingisthefateoftomorrow.blogspot.com/
Every time I come back to this page, I'm struck by how much I love the driftwood sculpture and the new wallpaper for 52 Projects.
ReplyDeletethese are awesome...i just wrote mrb you should put them on etsy!
ReplyDelete