the art and imagination of Jen Minnis
Originally uploaded by esmecat.
my first attempt at kanzashi hair ornaments… i don’t have materials for this yet, but i couldn’t wait to try it… so i tried it with some paper.
i actually like the idea of these traditional hair ornaments translated into paper. i think i’m going to make a bunch more out of paper even after i give it a try with the silks.
I’ve added a page to my website with all the information i could find on making Kanzashi : www.jenminnis.com/kanzashi.html
Originally uploaded by esmecat.
you may remember the crocheted shawl i posted about back in may when it was in progress… i finally got a decent photo of it put up over at flickr.
i don’t know if any of you listen to the craftlit podcast. it is a wonderful podcast that combines some crafting talk with audio book episodes. Heather was a high school english teacher, so she has great comments about the books too. she’s currently working through Turn of the Screw by Henry James (one of my favorite books).
well, this weeks episode, she mentions receiving the pysanky ornaments i sent off to her 
you may remember the pic i posted of the egg i made specifically to her.
so, there’s my 2 minutes of fame, lol!
(excuse me while i preen under comments like “spectacular artist”, “the most gorgeous egg ornaments”,”unbelievably beautifully done”, “extraordinary”… i’ll get over it soon, i promise!)
if you are interested in when she talks about my eggs, it’s in episode 33 from 7:50 minutes to 10:15 and when she refers to talking about me before, it is in episode 24 at the very end where she talks about the jester block print i carved for paul’s birthday.
i just added a couple of pysanky ornaments to my etsy store the proceeds of which will go to Miss Violet (of Lime and Violet Podcast)’s “Insurance Sucks Fund”. if you have been keeping up with her, you will realize that she has just found a lump in her breast and that her insurance has a HUGE deductible…. which resets in Jan. we want her to get in ASAP and get this checked out… so…
each ornament is a real egg. it has been blown and dyed with a traditional Ukrainian wax resist method. the dyed surface has been sealed with a coat of polyurethane. a gold tone hanger has been added at the top.
here are some of the more complex ornaments i’ve been working on for a few special people. the top 4 are all the same pattern in different color combos… exploring what colors work well.
the bottom 3 photos are a special ornament i made for Heather Ordover who does the Craft Lit podcast.
these are the first completely finished ornaments… i’m making about 40 of these for gifts this year.
after making a few more complex designs, i’m actually realizing i’m liking the simpler ones (1 color dye) more…. the more complex designs tend to lose something nestled in the tree because you aren’t looking at an ornament up close and in detail usually. they end up looking dark and muddied. the simple snowflake designs look better as ornaments. i think i’ll keep the more complex eggs for easter designs in the future.
