another creation, inevitably overthought

And God created man to his own image: to the image of God he created him: male and female he created them. (Gen. 1:27)

The first thing God did in relation to us (as far as we know) is create. And I think part of being made imago Dei is our desire to create.

Scarves, tables, birdhouses, collages, ornaments, novels, wreathes, computers, skyscrapers, toilets, bombs, socks, children--we have a creative instinct. It's not a "man thing" or a "woman thing" but a "human thing" to make things. Look:



There are tendencies (though definitely not exclusive) for women to make some things and men to make other things; therefore, both craft stores and hardware stores. What fascinates me here is not our differences but our similarities. In either place, you can find wire, wood, wire cutters, needle-nose pliers, hammers, measuring sticks or tapes, paint, paintbrushes, sealant, string, glue, and hoards of other stuff that I can’t remember because it’s been too long since I’ve been in either store.

While the other little kids were watching the Smurfs and whatever other TV shows I cannot reminisce about, I was making cradles out of kleenex boxes, cameras out of toilet paper rolls, games out of history class, covered wagons out of swingsets, towns out of chalk. "Do you want to do 'make things'?" my brother Paul would ask, and we'd make a mess of beads and string in the downstairs bedroom. He'd end up with a tightly-knotted, well-made bracelet; I'd have a mess I thought was beautiful until my mom wouldn't let me wear it to Mass. I have a stash of cardboard under my bed at school; I keep twine and carabiners handy--often it doesn't occur to me to buy something until I've failed two or three times at making it.

I think this creative instinct in me has grown to the point of obsession. I toyed with an idea through finals week, and when I got home, I started work. I never really wanted to have it, but I wanted to make it, so I told Seth I was making it for him. And he can have it. I just wanted to make it.



It was really strange making it. I'm semi-competent at craft-store-creation and semi-competent at hardware-store-creation and this task required both. I dug through the dresser in the downstairs bedroom where we keep most of the craft-store-stuff (and some of Emily's things); I burrowed into the cellar where we keep most of the the hardware-store-stuff (and our jam and empty jam jars). This intrigued me: clearly a craft-store paintbrush on a shelf in the cellar, just shelves above scads of paint cans.



This is what the kitchen table looked like during part of the operation:



Needle-nose pliers, a hardware-store paintbrush, a knife--also a safety pin, quilting needles, mod podge--also fire!

This is how I made it:

Scrap pine wood from the cellar, power saw, and sandpaper to make the base. Green tissue paper, sparkly white tissue paper (both from gifts from my mom's students), and mod podge to make green and snow for the base. Candle wax to make snow on the base and to hold Gawain in place. Melted red crayon to make blood in the snow and on Gawain's neck.

Wire, wire cutters, and needle-nose pliers to make Gawain. (The wire kept breaking when I didn't want it to, so I had to rework my plans a few times.)

Embroidery floss and knots from a childhood friendship-bracelet-making phase to make the girdle. Quilting needle and gold thread to make the green girdle gleam gold.

Paper sack and hammer to break a bottle. Glass and craft store scouring pad to make a shield. Insignia red enamel paint and craft-store paintbrush found in the cellar to make the shield red. Braided gold thread and mod podge to make a pentangle.



(Seth, if you're wondering, I took this picture while typing "DRY, DARNIT!" into your IM window.)

Match stick to make an ax handle. Lid from an empty jam jar, labeled 2006, marked with a knife blade and cut with scissors, to make an ax blade. Hot glue to attach.