Hardware Jar

When I was a kid, my grandfather had an empty peanut butter jar out in the shed that he filled full of metal and odd things.

There were old keys, and parts to lawnmowers. Pencils that were too short to use but still had too much use left to throw away. Maybe that's part of the inspiration for the short colored pencil charms, who knows?


I loved to go through that old jar and play with the things in it. Nuts and bolts, old galvanized nails. Things you might need someday, you just never know.

I wonder if that has somehow influenced my enjoyment of mixed media and old paper goods.


So this pile of goodies has gone separate ways now, to the new owners. Maybe they'll turn into jewelry or maybe a collage or mixed media piece.

It reminds me of dumping out my granddad's glass jar of wonders.