Intersections - New Adventures In Montana

Sunset View

We recently moved from Dallas Texas to Bigfork Montana, a small town located adjacent to Flathead lake. It is an incredibly beautiful place, and we are so enjoying being here, living here!

Over the past few years, I have been primarily working with Bamboo to make my brush handles. Bamboo is a fabulous material, it is beautiful, plentiful, and versatile. I really enjoy working with it, transforming it into something functional and beautiful. Now I find myself immersed in an environment where there are so many interesting new materials that I will be able to use, I see many possibilities. 

Because of this, I was thinking of how the integration of old & new materials (wood, stones, bark, bone, horn, etc.) would bring fresh ideas and inspire my creativity. 

Case In Point - New Work

I have not even scratched the surface in discovering the natural treasures that abound here, there are so many. I particularly love the birch trees, how the bark falls off of the tree, and can naturally curl. I found several pieces that I used to make into ferrules, (I used a strong epoxy on the white birch bark curls to ensure they would be strong enough and would function well) and they turned out beautifully. 

I also used bamboo on the handle of the brush on the right, pictured above. The color of the bamboo worked so well with the white birch bark, a good example of old and new intersecting in a beautiful way.

I will continue to share thoughts about my art process/practice, and provide visual peeks into this great place, so stay tuned! 

Happy Creating From Beautiful Bigfork MT.,

Elizabeth