Locksmith

I have been sitting here for about a week and a half trying to complete a sentence on why I decided to spend the next phase of my life creating art around the word Locksmith. The act of Locking/unlocking something seems to me to be one of the more sacred things man has accomplished. We have spent our lives trying to lock everything we find important; transportation, homes, money, our hearts etc., all while trying unlock the powers and mysteries that control our lives today. Fire, the wheel, agriculture, light, information and the atom are things that come mind when I think of the things Man have unlocked (only to lock again under chemical codes, patents and secret formulas). Locksmith is the title I've given my next Series. My aim is to try to create some things that express the magnitude of locking and unlocking. I'm starting by making a mix CD for my friend Patch in New orleans the holidays. The cover for that mix represents the unlocking of mass destruction.

Shanna Leino

Shanna Leino is a New Hampshire artist who makes handmade books as well as tools. Leino also explores historical methods for making books. Shanna was an exhibitor in this year’s Pyramid Atlantic Book Arts Fair at the Civic Center in Silver Spring, Maryland. Her booth seemed intentionally minimal, strewn with little pieces of carefully honed bone and steel. To the left, highly polished bone-folders made of Elkbone. In the middle and to the right, equally shimmering awls, punches and chisels. The latter are made of high carbon heat-treated tool-grade steel. There have been many occasions where a sturdy awl was an essential tool for my work. I was elated to find a “maker” that took the time to make tools both strong and beautiful. The steel tools were made in two “flavors”; One ornate, the other hammered. I chose the only “hammered” awl/burnisher on display at the time (above). I am very grateful to add this to my collection. To view more of her work, visit shannaleino.com