My personal artistic pace and time for bookarts and other creative endeavors has been recently altered (to say the least). This Spring my firstborn made his entrance into this world! Graham is his name, and currently drooling is his game. He truly is my greatest creation yet.
I'd like to share the Pajaki paper chandelier I made for him. Pajakis are wonderfully decorative and geometric. I love the symmetry that goes into designing them, and the range of embellishments that can adorn the structured form are so enticing. They are a traditional folk art from Poland and the name translates to "spiders of straw". I have been ready to try my hand at constructing one for some time now, and a baby-mobile-type-thing was the perfect excuse.
If you are interested in learning how to make Pajaki, I strongly encourage you to take the class offered at Two Hands Paperie. Taught by one of the shop owners, Mia Semingson, this class is so popular it can usually be found on the current class listings.
Here is the link to the Pajaki class offered this Fall:
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| Photos: Mia Semingson |
Pajaki seems to be enjoying a resurgence as of late, and I love some of the modern takes I have seen (I'm usually a sucker for contemporary design twists honoring historic tradition). Some decorative embellishments common to traditional Pajaki are pompoms, paper flowers, and tassels. While I love all of these types of ornamentations, I had something specific in mind for this baby-themed Pakaji... SHEEP!
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| Photo: relaimedwool.com |
First of all, I have no interest in learning how to needle felt, and second of all Heidi Leugers makes the most fantastic sheep ornaments from reclaimed wool, so really the only task was to choose the perfect flock of 6 for the Pajaki!
Here is Heidi's website if you are interested to know more:
I used paper, pompoms, and straws from Two Hands Paperie.
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| Photos: twohandspaperie.com |
Covering the straws in paper was quite meditative.
I kept the rest of the Pajaki embellishments on the simple side - I wanted the sheep to be the focal point. I loved the exercise of engineering the geometry design! I also contemplated my son as I was creating. Making art for specific people always seems to invite intimate meditation on that person, and I was grateful to have this project to bask in my new assignment as a mom.
Well enough about the process - here is the final result! I definitely encourage anyone to have a go at Pajaki!
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