Our Meandering Path - Peg and Awl Treasures, and Homeschooling!
When we make new objects for Peg and Awl, we don't set out to make. They come about through exploration and need. We pull from life. There is rarely a moment when Walter and I get together and say, "what should we make next for Peg and Awl?"
The same is true for our lives. As I look through my photographs from 2018, this year seems to be all about art, journaling, exploring, curiosity, and finding our way together, as a family, as small business owners, and as makers. We were clearing a path for ourselves and didn’t even realize we were on the move...
Stepping out of our car one breezy Sunday morning into a flea market parking lot full of regular parking lot rocks, Silas spied a slightly green one. He put in in his pocket and upon returning home, he put some lemon juice on it. He and Søren (with the help of the internet) identified it as Green Quartzite and that marked the beginning of our new adventure – or re-adventure – into the world of rocks! Our Summer and Fall and on came to include gem shows, mines, hand stitched books and identification cards, magnifying glasses, and an even closer look at the ground.
And, as always, heavy Hunter Satchels.
Most importantly, as I think back, that green rock seemed to confirm our decision to jump into the world of homeschooling.
And homeschooling, it seems with the help of these rocks and the histories they hold, seemed to have lead the way to our deciding to vacate city living and officially become Country Bumpkins! We are moving house! Soon - and completely unexpected. I shall share more in time, but expect to see a whole new world of Peg and Awl treasures in 2019!
A little moment from a summer adventure to Calvert Cliffs, MD, where we found fossils and rocks and nests and bugs and dragged our bodies across unfamiliar landscapes to uncover the tiniest sampling of the world’s treasures. The endlessness of it all is breath taking. I want to explore more than I could possibly explore in a life time and find myself often - literally - not breathing.
Kempton, PA. Another close-to-home adventure! We encourage our boys to keep journals. Søren made his own whilst Silas went shopping at Peg and Awl!
Drawing in VA, the end of our summer road-tripping.
PS: We listened to this on the way home: http://freakonomics.com/podcast/creativity-2/
Suggested Blog Posts
-
Whether embarking on a backyard exploration, a community science project, travelling near or far, or identifying mysterious objects around your house, these cards encourage observation, drawing, writing, and a touch of research. However you use them, we hope they inspire you to always keep an eye out for the little things!
The world is bursting with magic, and for anyone looking, it positively pulses. As a family of life-long learners, we felt compelled to share a few of our favourite activities in one compact notebook of removable cards (coming soon!). We are now in our 4th year of officially homeschooling our boys, which means full time of the stuff we did around the edges of their ‘normal’ education at public school.
We love the unknown and the ‘around the edges’ stuff like family bike rides, traveling, and art all day, and have always found places like Kahn Academy and Skillshare, to be grounding companions. With so many students of the world currently homeschooling, or hodge-podge schooling via Zoom and Flipgrid (like we are!), we have decided (thanks Silas!) to unearth this Peg and Awl project have turned it into a free downloadable PDF: Specimen Cards!
Whether embarking on a backyard exploration, a community science project, travelling near or far, or identifying mysterious objects around your house, these cards encourage observation, drawing, writing, and a touch of research. However you use them, we hope they inspire you to always keep an eye out for the little things!
Silas drawing daffodils on a portable desk made by Søren! Silas shows me his mushroom specimen! 
Sampling of the coming soon Specimen Card notebook. Collection of Specimen Cards by Silas! 
Designing the Specimen Card book – including Silas's original drawings! Closeup of updated Specimen Card, nearly finalized! Specimen Cards + Homeschooling (Free Printable)
The world is bursting with magic, and for anyone looking, it positively puls...
Read The Post -
I am sure my right arm* is stronger for all of the writing and stitching and hauling of pages in journals for so many years of my life. So many miles we’ve traveled together, me and my books. I wonder how many miles of words I’ve written if strung end to end? The first journal that I made was stolen in a café in Amsterdam. What the journal thief couldn’t possibly know was that his actions would set me upon a path.
“Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace, and power in it.”
–Johann Wolfgang GoetheI am sure my right arm* is stronger for all of the writing and stitching and hauling of pages in journals for so many years of my life. So many miles we’ve traveled together, me and my books. I wonder how many miles of words I’ve written if strung end to end? I've always made books (I have one from when I was 6!), but I began to keep a journal regularly when I was 12 years old, and started making my journals when I was 25. I won’t do the math, but there are a lot of years of books and a lot of years of scribbling between now and then. I was always stitching a book or filling one up.
Hunter S. Thompson invited me into his limo one day, outside of The Strand in NYC. Actually, it wasn’t me he invited in, but my journal—I was holding it. I didn’t know anything about Hunter beyond Fear and Loathing, but I climbed in and sat next to him—shoulder to shoulder. When he asked if he could see the journal, I handed it over. Then he asked if he could write in it. I said yes, of course. He wrote a message in Latin and I don’t remember what else. I never did get to translate it because I went to Amsterdam shortly after the encounter and my bag—with my journal in it—was stolen.
That was the first proper journal I had built. I’ve made hundreds since then. But the first one was stolen in a café in Amsterdam. What the journal thief couldn’t possibly know was that his actions would set me upon a path, for despite my initial despair, I struck out in search of a book bindery. After a day of walking and asking nearly every stranger I could make eye contact with about the shop, I’d finally found it. And what a magical place it was! I stocked up on supplies I’d never known existed then went to an upholstery shop up the street, where I discovered antique leather in a dusty floor corner removed from a chair made in the 1800s! With tools and material from the bindery, I set to work making my second journal, using my thighs as a book press. The result, with its battered old leather, looked like it had travelled through time many hundreds of years, and its pages begged for stories like that of The Journal Thief.
The very objects that started this adventure are a foundational piece of our shop. Putting these Tomes into production was no easy task and after much planning, many trials and many years, we’ve got the process down and have been able to explore with variations in headband, textiles, and leather! I appreciate everyone’s questions and interest in these Monsters!
Hand-stitched headbands adorn each Tome. I use all kinds of medium and make all kinds of marks within my journals! 
Working on sketches for Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket! Harper and Jackson Tome Stack! 
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*since writing this, I've been using my left hand for drawing - beginning with the #100dayproject 2021! I'm still at it, so my left hand is catching up a little.
Handbound Leather Tomes
“Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has ...
Read The Post
Suggested Blog Posts
Whether embarking on a backyard exploration, a community science project, travelling near or far, or identifying mysterious objects around your house, these cards encourage observation, drawing, writing, and a touch of research. However you use them, we hope they inspire you to always keep an eye out for the little things!
The world is bursting with magic, and for anyone looking, it positively pulses. As a family of life-long learners, we felt compelled to share a few of our favourite activities in one compact notebook of removable cards (coming soon!). We are now in our 4th year of officially homeschooling our boys, which means full time of the stuff we did around the edges of their ‘normal’ education at public school.
We love the unknown and the ‘around the edges’ stuff like family bike rides, traveling, and art all day, and have always found places like Kahn Academy and Skillshare, to be grounding companions. With so many students of the world currently homeschooling, or hodge-podge schooling via Zoom and Flipgrid (like we are!), we have decided (thanks Silas!) to unearth this Peg and Awl project have turned it into a free downloadable PDF: Specimen Cards!
Whether embarking on a backyard exploration, a community science project, travelling near or far, or identifying mysterious objects around your house, these cards encourage observation, drawing, writing, and a touch of research. However you use them, we hope they inspire you to always keep an eye out for the little things!
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Specimen Cards + Homeschooling (Free Printable)
The world is bursting with magic, and for anyone looking, it positively puls...
Read The Post
I am sure my right arm* is stronger for all of the writing and stitching and hauling of pages in journals for so many years of my life. So many miles we’ve traveled together, me and my books. I wonder how many miles of words I’ve written if strung end to end? The first journal that I made was stolen in a café in Amsterdam. What the journal thief couldn’t possibly know was that his actions would set me upon a path.
“Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace, and power in it.”
–Johann Wolfgang Goethe
I am sure my right arm* is stronger for all of the writing and stitching and hauling of pages in journals for so many years of my life. So many miles we’ve traveled together, me and my books. I wonder how many miles of words I’ve written if strung end to end? I've always made books (I have one from when I was 6!), but I began to keep a journal regularly when I was 12 years old, and started making my journals when I was 25. I won’t do the math, but there are a lot of years of books and a lot of years of scribbling between now and then. I was always stitching a book or filling one up.
Hunter S. Thompson invited me into his limo one day, outside of The Strand in NYC. Actually, it wasn’t me he invited in, but my journal—I was holding it. I didn’t know anything about Hunter beyond Fear and Loathing, but I climbed in and sat next to him—shoulder to shoulder. When he asked if he could see the journal, I handed it over. Then he asked if he could write in it. I said yes, of course. He wrote a message in Latin and I don’t remember what else. I never did get to translate it because I went to Amsterdam shortly after the encounter and my bag—with my journal in it—was stolen.
That was the first proper journal I had built. I’ve made hundreds since then. But the first one was stolen in a café in Amsterdam. What the journal thief couldn’t possibly know was that his actions would set me upon a path, for despite my initial despair, I struck out in search of a book bindery. After a day of walking and asking nearly every stranger I could make eye contact with about the shop, I’d finally found it. And what a magical place it was! I stocked up on supplies I’d never known existed then went to an upholstery shop up the street, where I discovered antique leather in a dusty floor corner removed from a chair made in the 1800s! With tools and material from the bindery, I set to work making my second journal, using my thighs as a book press. The result, with its battered old leather, looked like it had travelled through time many hundreds of years, and its pages begged for stories like that of The Journal Thief.
The very objects that started this adventure are a foundational piece of our shop. Putting these Tomes into production was no easy task and after much planning, many trials and many years, we’ve got the process down and have been able to explore with variations in headband, textiles, and leather! I appreciate everyone’s questions and interest in these Monsters!
|
|
|
|
Sign up for our newsletter if you haven’t already!
*since writing this, I've been using my left hand for drawing - beginning with the #100dayproject 2021! I'm still at it, so my left hand is catching up a little.
Handbound Leather Tomes
“Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has ...
Read The Post
Comments
Margaux Kent
March 04, 2019Jenni! Just seeing this. We had our comments turned off and I’ve only discovered it:) Ooooh – a retreat would be so much fun!
Jenni
February 23, 2019Miss you guys! Your images always inspire. When are you going to start running artist retreats for the urban weary?……….