Last week, I was thinking of a present to get for a colleague, who is retiring after 36 years at the UCLA Library. I happened to be wearing a book necklace I had bought from Niko a couple of years ago and got a compliment on it. Niko's book jewelries are basically very miniature hand-bound books, and I figured that book jewelry is an appropriate present for a librarian. It took me a long to decide which ones to buy, but I finally picked these:
Aren't they wonderful?
Well, since I was buying stuff, I thought I might as well order something for me, too. I have always admired Niko's works, so I bought "Liminal," a black-and-white intaglio print featuring a tree trunk and fairies (I love both!). I have to say that the pictures on her website don't do it justice. I love it--it is gorgeous! And I happen to have a frame that is perfect for it. So, I have put it in the frame and found a space for it on my bedside table.
As you can see, I have sort of created a little nature-themed vignette. In front of it are two huge grey/white conch shells that I collected on one of the uninhabited barrier islands on the Eastern shore of Virginia last summer (I went on a seashell-collecting boat excursion), as well as a Jade iron fairy.
The point of all this, aside from being very happy about my purchases, is that I am inspired to do more creative stuff. I've been feeling this a lot lately anyway, and this is just another source of inspiration. So, I am hoping that writing this post is just the beginning to the rekindling of my creative endeavors (the writing part, at least).
Postscript: I asked Niko for more info about the print, and she ended up writing an entire blog post about it. It's a detailed description of the process of creating the print with some more pictures of the print. Very interesting. Seems like a lot of work! Makes me admire it even more.
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