Perspectives on Collecting

Ziacat · February 4, 2026, 6:18pm

Looking is one of the best things you can do. And I’ve seen some of your jewelry; you’ve got some great stuff! I love the mix you have together in the photo. You put them together very well. Love it!

I was blessed to have a mom who loved art. Her dad died when she was 11, and they didn’t have much money. She started to go to art school after graduating from high school, but couldn’t afford to do more than a year. However, she had a great eye, and when she married my dad she did a lot of the interior design for the family furniture store. I was blessed to inherit quite a few cool things from them.

BTW, you can definitely learn later in life. My husband was not particularly interested in art growing up, but he really has grown to have very good taste IMO

chris · February 4, 2026, 6:21pm

Ha! You made me smile! Maybe there is hope for my husband!

However, he is very musical. I am so glad that he taught our children rhythm, music and how to play instruments.

Ravenscry · February 4, 2026, 7:02pm

I agree with @chris, @Ziacat, I think this is great! My parents opened my eyes to antique shops, the arts, and museums at a very young age. Of the many things my father was passionate about, one was orchids. @StevesTrail’s recent mention of one of his blooming brought back a flood of memories. Dad used to cross-breed them and I remember just being awestruck when many were in bloom. Thinking back on it, here was this big burly man with hands the size of frying pans cultivating one of nature’s most delicate beauties.

Of course he does! You two have a beautiful home and it’s all so tastefully put together!

My father played bass guitar from his early teens throughout his life. Electric Fenders, an acoustic fretless Epiphone, and even an upright. He was the alarm clock on Sunday mornings with his bass tunes and breakfast cooking. He couldn’t read sheet music but played by ear and never used a pick. As a young kid I would go with him to his blues band practices at another member’s home, Jim Eikenberry. Jim collected old hunting decoys, among many things, and he also drew and painted them. Jim and I used to sketch together and he is one of the biggest influences in my continuing to enjoy pencils and charcoals. Here is a photo of Jim from last year with one of his works.

I could most certainly bore everyone into a daze with stories from these times, but these experiences provided me with a deep appreciation for art of all forms, its collection, and my desire to foster it in others. Thank you guys for sharing!

chris · February 4, 2026, 7:27pm

Your stories would not bore me! What could be better than weekend mornings with breakfast and music. My husband plays guitar and a little piano. He enjoys blues and jazz! My oldest plays clarinet and a little piano, and my youngest plays bass guitar, a little piano, and saxophone. When the boys were learning the piano we actually had three pianos in our house! I can’t imagine a house without music!

Ziacat · February 4, 2026, 7:57pm

@chris, that’s great your husband is a musician, and passed this on to your children. My dad sang and played the trumpet. He was not good enough to get in IU’s orchestra, so he made each of us play some difficult instrument in hopes that one of us would fulfill his dream. Fortunately my sister finally did with the bassoon. I had to play the oboe and I was TERRIBLE - that is not an understatement. I absolutely hated it He also insisted we all learn to play the piano, so I finally quit the dang oboe and continued with piano, although I don’t play anymore.

My hubby is not a musician, but he enjoys music (Chris, he is a huge blues fan). Some will groan when I say this, but I have learned to appreciate football from him. He played in HS, so loves it, and has taught me to see not only the physical level of skill involved, but also the strategy of the game. I don’t love it, but I’m glad that I can enjoy something that he loves. I believe that is important in a relationship.

Thank you, @Ravenscry, you are very kind.
And your dad must have been an awesome guy. I wish I had learned how to play guitar; they are just so freaking cool! I have a friend who only plays by ear, but I’ve never heard of anyone not playing with a pic! What a good Sunday morning memory you have.

Aaron, that drawing by your Dad’s friend is amazing.

nanc9354 · February 4, 2026, 8:49pm

Thanks @Patina The turquoise caught my eye at first and what looks like an Indian maiden. I love the cab but I’m not a big ring person due to fat knuckles that make the ring twirl around. It would make a lovely ring though. Maybe if @Stracci opens a shop, I can have her make one for me with one of her large shanks.

Ravenscry · February 4, 2026, 9:17pm

@chicfarmer and @OrbitOrange, how fortunate you both were to have been able to view the Barnes collection in its original location and display. While I’ve read a very small amount concerning the collection’s relocation, I’m nowhere nearly as well versed as either of you on the subject. I would be grateful if either of you decide to share more concerning what you know of Albert. @chicfarmer, if you think you could get him to join the forum, that would be awesome.

Thank you, @Ziacat. I’m thankful for the opening of my eyes at such a young age. (Because you mentioned it, dad played with the tips of his fingers and the side of his thumb; which provided the “slap” that’s so unique to the bass. )

I’m looking forward to learning the views of other members and how they go about collecting!

Xtina · February 5, 2026, 1:30am

This has been a great topic. What motivates you, a great philosophical question! I can identify with what you’ve all said here, so many things resonated. I do tend to be part of the eclectic anything-everything school of collecting; just odd things (usually old/antique) that catch my eye and appeal, so I probably look like Barnes, just without the great artistic or historic value . But I don’t buy stuff I won’t use or wear…having stuff sitting around boxed up and hidden is NOT enjoying it, so I’m apparently not in it for the value of it or its significance. And like @Ziacat, vacation buys are important since it’s a visual reminder of where I have been.

I love art, and for me, jewelry is also art. My husband asks, “how much do you need?? If you had a million dollars, would you still want more?” Despite the fact that he was equating it with greed and can only see it that way, it helped to frame my view of it (and it’s not greed, I promise!). They’re all unique; each piece reflects that artist’s vision and creative spin, and there seems to be no end to the way someone can see and share their vision. I guess I appreciate that individuality and it speaks to me, and that’s why I want to own a piece of it. I don’t like cookie cutter, mass-produced trends.

I buy “real”, if that makes sense. I don’t have a big budget but buy good quality of what I can afford, and I won’t waste money on knock-offs (at least not knowingly! I have a few stinkers in my NA collection from when I didn’t know better). So it may not be valuable, but it’ll be genuine.

chris · February 5, 2026, 1:39am

It totally makes sense. I can sell all the mass produced stuff that I find, and not feel bad about it. But there is something special about the handmade one of a kind pieces. The ones you can’t find in catalogs that you get in the mail.

Ravenscry · February 5, 2026, 12:20pm

These are all great points, @Xtina. There’s validity in each of these, for me.

I also enjoy the spontaneity of things. A close friend of mine lives in Alaska, and on one of our visits we helped an Inuit friend of his; after which he gifted me an ivory carving that his grandfather had crafted. That memory and experience guided a newfound appreciation for Natives of the Arctic, their art, and profound culture. Sam Dimmick, an Inuit artist from Nome, AK, presents at the Eiteljorg Market and it’s always a blast visiting with him and his Zuni wife.

Please allow me one other spontaneous happenstance.

In 2021, my younger sister and I spent a bit of time on a Harley along the Oregon and Washington coasts. One night was spent on the shore of Lake Quinault in Washington and we were blessed with a meteor shower over the mirrored lake. The following morning, we visited the Lake Quinault Museum and met Chigger, the wizened curator of the establishment. She baked us homemade lemon bars and told us of her days racing red cedar canoes with the Natives. Telling her of our quest for art and that we were thinking of visiting Queets, she responded with “Why in the would you go to Queets? Head to Taholah!” So we did, and unbeknownst to us, we rode right into the Quinault Nation. After visiting their museum, we came to a T at State Road 109 and Riverside Drive. The intersection was on the bank of the Quinault River, and under a small tent, just off the road, was an artist selling her works. We probably looked rather rough, having not showered nor seen a bed for over a week, but it made her no nevermind. Her name is Corinna English, and she is a Coast Salish artist, poet, and songwriter. She asked for a ride on the bike, and after a little jaunt while my sister watched her tent, we spent hours together. When I asked her if she had any original works, she thought for a moment, and pulled this cow skull out from under a pile of blankets in her van.

Needless to say I couldn’t take it with me at the time, but Corinna offered to carefully pack and ship it. Before leaving her, I asked if she would entertain painting a bison skull from one of my grandfather’s hunts, she excitedly agreed. After preparing it, I sent it to her and she graced it with her unique twist on Northwest Coast design.

This is the photo she sent before sending it back.

So, all of that said, that time spent riding and camping in Oregon and Washington as well as being blessed with Corinna’s friendship, both led me to a deep love for Pacific Northwest Art. I enjoy collecting it on a small scale and Corinna has become a dear friend.

If you made it through all of that, thanks for sticking with me. I enjoy recounting these trails of my collecting journey.

TAH · February 5, 2026, 12:32pm

Wow, Aaron, what a story, experience, and treasure you have from meeting Corinna! Both skulls are magnificent! Thanks for sharing and the photo of Corinna holding the bison skull is art in itself!

Stracci · February 5, 2026, 2:26pm

I’m a collector. When I was a kid, Dad introduced me to stamps, rocks , shells, coins, etc. I collected them all, but my first and original love is jewelry. I love it all, from Victorian to Scandanavian to NA.

Dad always said “Two is a pair and three is a collection!”

I am also crazy for English transfer ware, art pottery, Pueblo pottery, Wedgwood jasperware, sterling serving pieces, and Asian furniture and decor.

I have lots of mini collections like sterling pill boxes, wooden carved boxes, Japanese dolls, arrowheads, sterling spoons, and other assorted items that spark my interest.

I have amassed a good collection of all these things, mostly purchased from thrift stores and yard sales.

Now that I am older, I concentrate on better quality objects. I have a very small budget, so when I find a great thing for pennies, I’m over the moon.

Ravenscry · February 5, 2026, 3:07pm

Thanks Tom, I’m glad you enjoyed! She trained under master Tlingit painters and a distinguished, nationally recognized Quinault artist, Randy Capoeman.

@Stracci, I knew you had multiple passions and collected quite a few things, but this is great! My grandfather introduced me to collecting arrowheads and rocks when I was five; I still love walking fields, river banks and a large local reservoir (when it’s drained) to do just that. Thank you for sharing!

I think having multiple interests is a blessing. It provides endless trails of enjoyment and opens possibilities for exercising the mind.

TAH · February 5, 2026, 3:25pm

Good morning Aaron,

I went back to take a second look at your skulls. They are really outstanding! The table, bookcase, and bow front cabinet are beautiful, as well.

Ziacat · February 5, 2026, 3:49pm

I love it that it your dad started you on your path to collecting; mine did also. Your dad saying, “three makes a collection,” reminded me that my mom used to say that about hanging groupings of wall art.

I remember some of your beautiful pottery that you posted on another thread. It would be fun to be on a collecting trip with you!

Ravenscry · February 5, 2026, 4:07pm

Thanks again, Tom. Those photos were taken right before that room got a major rework. That table was from the previous location of our shop. We used to be in the old Zollner Machine Works building; in addition to the main machine shop, they had a carpentry shop and a foundry/pattern facility. They cast the iron legs and carpenters laid the plank for their tables.

@Stracci & @Ziacat, I forgot to comment on this as well, my dad used to say the same thing!

Ziacat · February 5, 2026, 4:17pm

Those skulls are wildly (in a good way) beautiful!! And what a wonderful way to honor your grandpa. And your memories surrounding both pieces will always come to mind when you look at them (if you’re like me ). Thank you so much for sharing your stories. I still hope to get to Alaska some day, and now I need to seek out your friend at the market this year!

Seeing a meteor shower in general is breathtaking, but over a lake, wow. When I was young we went out on the dock and watched one over the Canadian lake where we vacationed.

Many years ago Don, his sister, and I went to the Olympic Peninsula, but we weren’t able to make it quite all the way to Lake Quinalt (we got as far as Ruby Beach; now you made me want to pull out my pics again ). We didn’t buy any Pacific Northwest Native art on that trip, but years later we traveled around Vancouver Island, and found some lovely things at First Nations shops in Tofino. Actually my first love of Native art was related to the First Nations art my parents had (Inuit and from tribes in Ontario). Dad used to hire Native guides to take him fishing, so that maybe is where his love of all of that started.

I agree with @TAH; I was enjoying the wood of the table and bookshelves - but then I do come from a family who sold furniture for a living

Ravenscry · February 5, 2026, 4:22pm

Here is a shot of when I first mounted the skulls, and plays to the “rule of three”.

The cow skull on the bottom was gifted to me on my seventh birthday by my grandfather who brought it back from one of his trips out West. The deerskin tag on it reads “Pottery Bird, Chevelon Shakwabaiyki Ruins”

Ravenscry · February 5, 2026, 4:38pm

Thank you @Ziacat! I really enjoy them.

Very much so!

Sam’s wife makes awesome jewelry from mammoth ivory, jet, fossilized wood and all kinds of other materials. We’ll definitely be swinging by their booth!!

Thank you for sharing, Zia, you’ve got such wonderful stories and memories.

There exists no better way about this, and you’re probably right!

I know that little of this is jewelry related, but my thought for this thread was just what it’s become; a discussion about the underlying trait of collecting that I know we all share, as well as the stories intertwined among that trait. Thanks guys!

I’ll share photos of a black bear skull that Corinna graced with her brushes tonight, if any would care to see it.

nanc9354 · February 5, 2026, 4:46pm

I really love how she painted this and the picture she took feels very spiritual. I see you are also a collector of antique furniture. I love your quarter sawn oak items.