Pencil Sculptures

After the recent Art Prize event in Grand Rapids, I've been intrigued by the concept of art - what is art, what materials can be used to create art, how do we view art. I've also been reminded of the gift of creativity given by God to people. I recently received one of those forwarded emails we all get occasionally, but this one showed a variety of sculptures all made by colored pencils. It was so interesting that I showed it to my second graders, and we tried to figure out how the sculptures were made. So I googled "Pencil Sculptures" and found this website by artist Jennifer Maestre.

Jennifer creates these amazing sculptures by cutting hundreds of pencils into 1 inch sections. She then drills a hole in the center of each pencil section to make a bead and sews them all together. (Silly me thought they were glued and wondered how the glue could be strong enough.) What a lot of thought, time, and energy is involved, but the result is amazing.

Here are a few pictures of some of her pencil sculptures.









The email I received also included a few of those "lessons" or reminders about life. These life lessons can be applied to pencils, but more importantly, they are great reminders for us as we go through life.

A PENCIL MAKER TOLD THE PENCIL 5 IMPORTANT LESSONS:

1.) Everything you do will always leave a mark.

2.) You can always correct the mistakes you make.

3.) What is important is what is inside of you.

4.) In life, you will undergo painful sharpenings, which will make you a better person.

5.) To be the best pencil, you must allow yourself to be held and guided by the hand that holds you.