Patchwork Underground

All of the artists I feature in my “Spotlight On:” series are personal crafts inspirations to me. Seems to me that no crafter can really work in isolation because we’re all drawing off that single creative principal. The first artist I want to feature in my “Spotlight On:” series is Taryn and Jeff’s business, Mystic Orb Talismans.

For the last two years I’ve been vending at the Saturday Market and Holiday Market cooperative in Eugene, OR. These folks appeared one day out of nowhere with a completely magical booth filled with jewelery and other needful things. They are both very down-to-earth people and totally passionate about what they do. Check out the pics below to see what I mean….these pieces really speak for themselves.

Mystic Orb Talismans - Necklace with Abalone

Mystic Orb Talismans - Tayrn Wearing the Abalone Necklace

Celtic Knot Inlay Necklace also by Mystic Orb

Wonderland Box! Massive Scrimshaw.

Another Angle of the Wonderland Box

More scrimshaw. This necklace is built around a metal screw-cap container.

Oooo. I'm a vegetarian but antler never looked this good.

Adorable pic of Tayrn wearing another one of their necklaces. Love the carving on this one.

Peace pipe!

(Note: This show-and-tell could go on for ages. I spend years in their booth picking everything up and trying it on. It was a struggle to restrain myself from uploading everything onto this post.)

About technique: The little line-drawings are done using an ancient technique called scrimshaw. Jeff scratches the image into bone (or sometimes stone) and then fills the carving in with ink. These images are TINY - he uses a needle-sized tool and a magnifying glass to do it. I never even knew what scrimshaw was before I met him. I guess it’s a sailor thing. (FYI, I strongly suspect these folks were a pirate duo in a past life.)

Jeff also does fantastic wood-carvings and inlays with whatever kinds of rocks he can get his hands on. Lately he’s been using picture jasper in his work which just really gives me the willies! I LOVE picture jasper and the organic shapes in the stone really compliment his earthy designs.

If you want to read more about Taryn and Jeff (and maybe check out pictures of their little goats or their on-going home renovation project!) visit their website, http://www.mysticorbtalismans.com or check out their Etsy shop at http://mysticorbtalismans.etsy.com. They’re new to Etsy and they’re already 70+ listings strong! These folks are truely epic crafters….