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The E-Newsletter of Cosanti Originals
Artful, One-of-a-Kind Handmade Gifts
March 9, 2021 Volume 5
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Photo Credit: Jessica Jameson |
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What Being "Original" Means to Us |
You may be familiar with the saying, "We are like snowflakes, all uniquely different in our own beautiful way." We borrow this phrase often when describing what puts the "originals" in Cosanti Originals. Each of the 25,000 bronze and 4,500 ceramic windbells we create each year is like an individually handmade snowflake, with intrinsic design variations occurring from bell to bell and from artisan to artisan.
The process is time-intensive, but Cosanti Originals artisans wouldn't have it any other way. Foundry artisans carve unique designs into the sand molds that become the raised features on the surface of each bronze windbell...just as the ceramics artistans carve distinctive patterns into the leather-hard surfaces of ceramic windbells and tiles, each one slightly different than the last, each one as original as a snowflake.
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Oh, Snow Pretty!
Cosanti Collectors Send In Their Photos
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Though made right here in the Arizona sunshine, Cosanti Originals’ handcrafted bells and rain chains feel right at home in any climate! Through our social media channels and our email inbox, we’ve been delighted at the many photos collectors have recently shared with us.
Have a photo you’d like to share? Send it to marketing@cosanti.com and we may use it in a future social media post or email.
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Photo Credits, clockwise:
Ginger Crichton, Iowa;
Judith Heinzl, Pennsylvania;
Ann Cantelow, Colorado;
Ginger Crichton, Iowa;
Jeff Stein, Massachusetts;
Patricia Guthrie, Pennsylvania
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Artisan Spotlight: Jonas Fister
Foundry Artisan, Musician, and Nature Enthusiast
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Jonas (pronounced yo-nuss) describes himself as "a curious person with a sense of wanderlust"...qualities that in all likelihood, led Jonas to find Arcosanti, where he lives and works, over eight years ago.
As anyone who has ever witnessed the carefully choreographed bronze pour process knows, teamwork is paramount among the foundry artisans, something Jonas was surprised by when he first began in the foundry. “We genuinely support each other. We're a community. You work together, then you go home together, then you spend the rest of the day together. It’s quite unlike anything I’d ever experienced before," he says, fondly.
Andy Chao, Arcosanti's foundry manager, who describes Jonas's work as 'clean, light, and elegant,' remarks, "I really can’t emphasize enough how Jonas constantly strives for perfection. Achieving perfection in his work literally brings Jonas joy."
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At Arcosanti, where the natural landscape is right outside your doorstep, Jonas, a nature lover at heart, feels right at home even during monsoon season “when it feels as though the sky is falling down on us and the community comes together in such a unique way to take it all in.”
Outside of work, Jonas can be found reading, exploring nature, playing one of the musical instruments he's mastered or organizing one of his occasional Arcosanti resident Karaoke Nights. And after almost a decade, despite living in the harsh desert environment of Arizona, Jonas feels most at home when he is near a natural body of water. “Well, I chose the wrong environment for that,” says Jonas, laughing.
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Photo Credits: Jessica Jameson |
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Beautifully burnished or perfectly patinaed, Cosanti Originals' collection of bronze windbells are beyond the ordinary. Make a statement and elevate your home decor with the texture and tradition of bronze. |
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Go Outside and Play the Friluftsliv Way |
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Chances are, even if you have not yet heard of “friluftsliv,” you have been doing more of it recently during the colder winter months. The Nordic concept of friluftsliv (pronounced free-loofts-liv) is one where open-air living is embraced, no matter the season. It can be used to explain anything from picnics in the park, biking to work, hiking through the desert, or our favorite past-time of simply sitting on the patio and listening to your collection of windbells ringing in the breeze.
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Friluftsliv is about appreciating the outdoors, taking time to connect with nature, and breathing fresh air. It’s one of the things the artisans at Cosanti Originals appreciate about working in the outdoor spaces at Arcosanti and Cosanti that were designed over half a century ago by progressive architect, Paolo Soleri.
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Experts - and Arizonans! - have long known that time outdoors increases happiness. In fact, an article in the journal Nature says that spending just two hours a week in natural environments boosts well-being.
At the heart of the friluftsliv philosophy is the notion that being in nature shouldn’t be complicated; this fluid connection between humans and their habitats is very similar to the arcology idea embraced through the experimental architecture at Cosanti and Arcosanti. So go ahead and lean into a little friluftsliv living in your own backyard and enjoy the sights and sounds of windbells, wildlife, and weather.
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Photo Credits: Jessica Jameson |
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