Gathering a flock

I have a request for a windchime with sheep on it. Others have asked how I make the mobiles, so here’s the process behind their creation. They are challenging to wrap, but there are several hundred Kahoka windchimes scattered across a couple of continents.

I start with a theme and cut out clay figures with cookie cutters or free-hand. The wee forms are cleaned, dried, and bisque fired. Then they are glazed and fired to Cone 6 and the real fun begins. 

My friend Susie collects drift wood for me from the Chesapeake Bay. I clean the wood and drill it, and then thread my strings, using beads for spacers. I usually incorporate smaller figures into the upper parts of the mobiles and larger ones on the ends. Sheep are great, being rounded and without vulnerable projections. I epoxy the knots to keep the wind from untying them if people hang their mobiles outside. Then I spray everything—the rope to keep out moisture and the wood in case of invisible in-dwellers. Indoors, the mobiles last indefinitely. Outside, they will last several years in a protected spot such as a screened porch. They don’t baa, but they sound wonderful!