Bookish Mary

  Hermes, in ancient Greek mythology, was an Olympian messenger, carrying messages between the mortal and divine worlds.  He was also known as a trickster, and a conductor of souls into the afterlife.   Hermes is the character I chose to create around a pair of cardboard shoe forms.  Three layers of recycled paper  in the Papier mache technique was used on the shoe forms to create Hermes's winged sandals,  which I covered with silk fabric; leather for the sandals and feathers for the wings.  Winged sandals: 6.5 x 3 x 2 inches/16.5 x 7.6 x 10.1 cm Next, I created Hermes's petasos (winged helmet).  Using recycled paper, I free-formed the helmet and painted it with acrylic paint.  Feathers, a leather visor and a brass button depicting Hermes, were added to complete the helmet.  Hermes's petasos (winged helmet): 7 x 5.75 x 4 inches/17.8 x 14.6 x 10.1 cm  Brass button with Hermes  I decorated a shoe box with acrylic paint, and ...

  Autumn is upon us and the ending of another year is just around the corner.  I started the new year (2026) with a very dry, creative spell.  Ideas and the will to create were at an all time low and then I bought a pair of shoes for the spring.  Inside the shoes were a pair of cardboard shoe forms.  As I unpacked the shoes the cardboard forms grabbed my imagination and poof! my creativity was sparked and it hasn't stopped.  At one point I had so many ideas I had to write them down.  To date 95% of the ideas have come to fruition.  What started out t as a very slow year has become a very creative, productive year.   SONOBE BALLS  I like to dabble in origami from time to time and these balls caught my eye when I saw them advertised as lamps.  I still don't know how the light has been added to them, but I certainly enjoyed making them: no glue and self-locking.  I first tested out the ball with Tyvek because it holds a fold ...