Coffee-Inspired Washington Crafts
Saturday, April 4th, 2009Seattle is normally connected with coffee; there are quite a lot of cozy little coffee shops that operate here and there, and one giant coffee corporation started its humble roots right here in the pike Place Market. But, the irony here is that Washington, even though it is an agricultural state, does not grow its own coffee. The climate here is simply not adequate to grow coffee trees.
At any rate, it is true that to this very day, there are a lot of people that go to Seattle if only to partake in the many coffee shops that line the streets. So, it follows that the crafts made here draw their inspiration from coffee. It has been said, after all, that coffee is the wine of Apollo, stimulating thought and creativity. Thus, many masterfully made crafts were inspired over a cup of coffee.
I have seen some people push the idea even further, though. Coffee in itself can be a form of art if used properly; that even the roasting of fresh green coffee beans turns out to be a favorite subject of photography. In other words, coffee is a wonderful sort of subject for many artists; it is the paint that breathes life into a canvas; both figuratively and literally.
I’ve seen one such crafted piece wherein miniature sculptures were accentuated with roasted coffee beans. It gave the piece an extra bit of texture, and even though the seductive smell of the bean would eventually fade away, the piece itself would still be there. Crafts of this kind are the perfect accent to a coffee enthusiast’s living room.
As I’ve said, I’ve seen painted works where the coffee is actually used as the medium to paint the canvas. Brown, in differing shades, is used to compose the piece, giving the finished artwork a classical look. True, coffee will continue to inspire artists and artisans as they percolate their newest concept over their morning cup. I know I will still go on sipping my coffee over my crafts.