Harbingers

Images © Karen Thiessen 2011

Sometimes childhood interests reveal future vocations. In this case, the sister wearing the spool necklace became a textile and mixed media artist. The brother became a professional truck driver. The sister and brother sitting in the tire wells of their father's truck were about 3.5 and 2 years old respectively. The boy would sit in the pear tree pretending that it was a combine or truck. His gear-shifting abilities were exceptional. The girl would draw elaborate scenes from Speed Racer on her mother's freshly wallpapered kitchen wall. Her mother was not impressed.

The spool necklace is another one of those evocative objects. Both necklaces were simply made with wooden spools threaded onto used shoelaces. The necklace below has a few goat bones added for interest and hangs on my office wall. Seeing it floods me with good memories of my childhood.