A 9 Foot Tall Tower of 50,000 Wishbones and 20 Other Examples of Wishbone Art For Thanksgiving.

Last year I treated my readers to a selection of Wishbone inspired art on Turkey Day. This year I have a new round-up of contemporary art, furniture and other Wishbone items I'd like to share with you in honor of Thanksgiving.

"Cathedral de St. Icarus, the Wishful" by artist Berenice Rarig



While collecting wishbones artist Berenice Rarig realized that there is a relationship between the seemingly individual rituals of wishing and the more traditionally religious rituals of prayer.




This inspired Berenice to create some various pieces of 'wishbone' art. Most impressive is her Cathedral de St. Icarus the Wishful, made with over 50,000 wishbones, wire frame, lights and stands approximately 9 feet high:




(Collection of the artist - touring installation).

Offspring of Icarus by Berenice Rarig (broken wishbones and beeswax):

See more from her 'Offspring of Icarus' here

Both The Cathedral de St. Icarus and Offspring of Icarus are parts of Rarig's Soul Cages collection.

Truong Tran's Wishbone Art
Three Wishes, 2008, enamel on wishbones:



Tran's Wishbone Installation:




Truong Tran: Before the Wish, A short (6 and a half minute) documentary about the process of visual artist Truong Tran collecting one thousand wishbones by hand for his installation, Wish (2012), first displayed at SOMArts Gallery in San Francisco:

Credits: Directed/Shot/Edited by Daniel Lichtenberg, Post at Photon Creative


Lorna Simpson: III (Three Wishbones in a Wood Box)



Lorna Simpson is best known for her photography, which often combines images of black women with text as a way to explore society's relationship with race, sex, and ethnicity. Frequently elusive, her works involve the viewer in the creation of their meaning while also confronting the viewer with the underlying racism still found in American culture. Over time, Simpson's work has grown to include sculpture as a way to enrich her explorations of the relationship between words and image. With this piece, Simpson continued with that focus, and centered on the wishbone, a key of her artistic imagery. Drawing on the metaphorical meanings of the project's materials, Simpson used III as both an examination of and meditation on wishing. The set includes a wooden box filled with three contrasting wishbones, or "wishes," made from bronze, ceramic, and rubber. The bronze and rubber wishbones are unbreakably rigid. The ceramic wishbone was designed to be fragile, which was the artist's intention.


Available for purchase here at MoMA
or here at Artware Editions

"Point", "Weave" and "Float", 3 pieces from artist Dana Weir's Wishbone series. Encaustic collage with map and real bone, 2010, 6" x 6" each:




Yoga Saraswati's Little Wishes, wish bones, red thread, pastel on black paper, 19 x 27 cm:


Nina C Marrero, Handmade studies in pencil, charcoal, and ink, with a final graphic translation of a wishbone:


Ethan Patrick Harris, The Endless Throb:


Barbie KJAR, Wishbone 2005, drypoint etching, 180 x 180cm:


Joey Monsoon's Wishbone Mechanic:


Mark Beam's WISH BONE, painted mixed media sculpture, signed and dated on verso, 30” tall:


Alie Ward, Wishbone print:


Wishbones For The Home (furniture, decor and housewares):

StackLab's Wood tables with their signature 'Wishbone' legs

StackLab's Wishbone Walnut table (private commission). Solid, machined bronze stitches replace traditional bowtie joints to stabilize the natural crack in the wood. The legs are Stacklab’s signature cast bronze Wishbone design in a polished finish:



The Rubaiyat Table is a 10’ x 36” x 3” historic redwood burl paired with Stacklab’s sand-cast aluminum ‘Wishbone’ legs:


The Troost Desk is a 10’ x 38” x 3” historic redwood burl paired with Stacklab’s sand-cast aluminum ‘Wishbone’ legs.

Modern Toronto has an interesting article and interview with Jeff Forrest of StackLab about their wishbone tables here

Brass Wishbone by jewelry designer Herbert Hoover in fun packaging.


Decorative Grand Wishbones by Lunares


Lucky Break Wishbone Wall Hooks and Jewelry Holder by IMM Living



Other wishbone item links:
•Wishbone art to buy via Fine Art America
•There are almost 5,000 Wishbone items (jewelry,housewares and art) available here on etsy
 •Don't forget to see last year's 18 pieces of art inspired by the wishbone here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Menurkey - A Thanksgivukkah Candelabra Created By A 9 Year Old.

above: glazed textured Menurkey shown

Although I won't be adding it to my carefully curated list of modern menorahs, the Menurkey is something us Jews celebrating Hanukkah this year ought to at least know of.


above: smooth plaster Menurkey shown

Since this year's Festival of Lights falls on Turkey Day (an extremely rare occurrence that last time happened in 1861), it was inevitable that someone would create something such as this. The fact that it's the brainchild of a 9 year old makes it even better.



The Menurkey is a combination Menorah/Turkey conceived of, designed and named by 9 year old Asher Weintraub, a fourth grader from New York City, who thought of the idea and the name when he learned of this strange calendar anomaly. He says one of the reasons he thought people might like to have a turkey menorah was because the holidays were similar – because in some way both commemorate being ‘thankful.’


above image of Asher with his Menurkey courtesy of WSJ


How he made it: 
Asher used Tinkercad, a 3D modeling platform, to make the first sketches of the prototype:


Makerbot Studios then stepped in to help out by printing the 3D prototype:


Ceramic artist Connie Smith of the Etsy shop doters adapted Asher's design to create the first prototypes for the Menurkey in plasticene, with two different exterior textures:





The Finished Editions
The Menurkeys are being made in a limited run of textured ceramic glazed Menurkeys and a higher volume edition of smooth plaster Menurkeys. The ceramic editions will be offered in two versions – white or blue )both shown below). The white plaster editions will be smooth (also shown below). Having already sold out of the limited glazed ceramic versions, you can still purchase the white plaster Menurkey.

The White Ceramic Glazed Menurkey:



The Blue Ceramic Glazed Menurkey:


The White Plaster Menurkey:


What began as a way to encourage one of their son’s ideas has grown into a mission – whomever Caroline Baron and Anthony Weintraub (Asher's parents) tell about the Menurkey smiles and asks questions, and it’s a great way to discuss these two holidays. What better way to celebrate this strange but amazing occurrence with your family than with this funny and fascinating conversation starter?


above: Asher Weintraub with his parents and younger brother



BUY IT
Plaster Menurkey (White)
6.5” h X 8.5” w X 5.5” d
$50.00 + Shipping & Handling
buy it here.

They also have an iMenurkey app created by the makers of the iMenorah

images and information courtesy of Menurkey.com

Lucky Ducks... I Mean Turkeys. Meet Cobbler and Gobbler, This Year's Pardoned Thanksgiving Fowl.

This year the choice was between Cobbler and Gobbler (via an online social media vote), two 19 week-old, 40 pound birds. Elementary school students in Rockingham County, Virginia - the native area of the turkeys - chose the names.



While one of the turkeys is recognized as the National Thanksgiving Turkey – chosen for the first time by the American public through an online contest this year – the president traditionally pardons both turkeys, one serving as an alternate.


above: The presidentially pardoned turkey Cobbler, whose distinguishing mark from his brother, Gobbler, is a small black mark on the beak, arrives at George Washington's Mount Vernon, Nov. 21, where he and his brother will live out their days under the property's care following a pardon by President Barack Obama. (Photo: M.Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO)

"If for some reason Cobbler cannot fulfill his duties as the official White House Turkey, Gobbler will be waiting in the wings," Obama said.



With the turkey gobbling away nearby, Obama teased about new beginnings.
"They say that life is all about second chances, and this November I could not agree more," he said, joking about his re-election. "So in the spirit of the season, I have one more gift to give and it goes to a pair of turkeys."



Following the pardoning, the turkeys will be taken to George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, where the winning turkey will be on display for visitors during "Christmas at Mount Vernon." They'll stay on the property after the holidays. The birds grew up on a farm near Harrisonburg, Virginia under National Turkey Federation Chairman Steve Willardsen's supervision.


above: Cobbler and Gobbler arrive at George Washington's Mount Vernon, Va., where they will live out their days under the care of the property following a presidential pardon, Nov. 21, by President Barack Obama. (Photo: M.Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO)

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the turkey presentation. In his remarks, Obama also thanked the troops overseas and asked Americans to remember the victims of Superstorm Sandy, which killed dozens in the U.S. and wreaked major devastation across the Northeast last month.

Concluding his comments, the president gave one final blessing to the turkey.
"You are hereby pardoned. Congratulations, Cobbler," the president said. "You'll have a great life."

Photos and info courtesy of The White House, CNN and Reuters