Crows and things

I like crows. And when I say "crows", I mean rooks, ravens, magpies - all the corvids, really. They're remarkably intelligent birds, and they always look like they're having such fun when they fly. I also love the way that every morning I can hear rooks cawing as they fly over my house. So lately I've been making crow jewellery. I've mostly been etching drawings into silver, but I've also made some earrings by piercing out some crow silhouettes. I'm actually really happy with the earrings - they've been oxidised to make sure the crows are black, and this make them stand out quite nicely, I think. The etched pieces are very much drawn in my style. I'm no great draughtsman, but I think my slightly scratchy style works pretty well etshed into silver. I'm going to do more of both, as they are quite relaxing for me when I'm getting irritated by wire melting while trying to make skeletons.

A slight moral quandary

I like the Arts and Crafts Movement a lot. I agree with many of its principles, such as the idea that objects should be made by craftsmen who had a hand in the design as well as the making, and that the maker should take pride in their work and should also be rewarded justly for their time. I like that the proponents of the Arts and Crafts Movement thought everyone should be able to have beautifully made items. I think people should be able to have lovely things that will last a lifetime. Quality is important: people don't want to have to buy the same item over and over again because it is shoddily made. The problem with this is that it's expensive. The basic cost of well-made and ethically sound crafted items is always going to be more than factory produced things. You might pay more for a designer t-shirt, of course, but it would have cost a lot less to produce (we all know about sweatshops, for example!). So, of course, not everyone can buy something handcrafted. When I was a student, I didn't have much money. That meant when I needed a bowl or a mug I'd buy something cheap from Sainsbury's. Of course, being cheap they broke or chipped easily (or disappeared as things do from student houses). I think what I'm going to do from now on is similar to how I buy eggs. If I have the money to buy organic, free-range eggs, I'll buy eggs. Otherwise I just won't have them. If I have the money to buy a handmade bowl I'll buy it. If I don't, I'll save up until I do and, until then, make do without. Of course, this is only my personal solution to my odd moral dilemma and there may well be a better solution (what if I never have money for eggs again? I haven't figured out what I'd do in that situation!).