acorn man

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binaries

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a new work with binaries – acorn caps and pollen

playing with acorns

I was out poking about in some semi-abandoned parkland near the lake recently (as you do) and started playing with the acorns. The caps in particular attract my attention. Just picking some up puts you in a bit of a playful mood. Is that because of cultural memory of acorn caps as fairy hats in children’s stories? The shape and form are certainly evocative of human craftsmanship in miniature – like a wood-turned bowl.

Then there is the binary – you see I seem to like anything that encapsulates a neat little binary – like the ‘black and white’ post a few days back. Perhaps a little more subtle in an acorn cap – but I think that any sort of vessel like form always has an element of inside/outside about it, and this is reinforced by the contrasting rough and smooth surfaces. The lightness of them is so satisfying too. They are woody in feel but so finely ‘made’ that they are very light. I guess that’s what made me want to float them.

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While I am writing I’m thinking more about fineness and lightness and I think that might be at the crux of why I enjoy acorn caps. I am realizing that I am often attracted to things with these characteristics. When I was making lots of handmade paper years ago, it was always the thinnest possible paper that I was trying to achieve. Same as when I did ceramics – If I was doing bowls or something I would always be trying to make them quite thin – though my abilities and experience with ceramics usually wasn’t quite up to it so most of them collapsed in on themselves.

In my printmaking too, the marks I make tend towards the fine rather than the bold within the range of possibilities for the particular method being used at the time. Well enough of my introspective rambling, back to acorns. While the cap intrigues me most, the seed itself has it’s own joys and possibilities.

And if you love acorns too, then check out this beautiful little craft item.