Text by Joseph M. Schuster • Artwork Photography by Dean Powell

As a girl, Jennifer Maestre loved pencils. “I never wanted to throw one away. I’d keep sharpening it until it was just the tiniest nub. I thought they were cute.” Ten years ago, she found a new way to express her appreciation for the simplest of writing implements. Inspired by a poster that featured a sea urchin, she began experimenting with materials to reproduce the urchin’s spines. After rejecting nails and glass, it struck her that she could create the effect by sawing pencils into 1-inch segments, sharpening each segment, and stitching them together with heavy beading thread.

Making Her Point page 1 | 2

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