A Gift of Love

Thomas Ashman recently shared photos of his amazing charm and tie he made for our project Ties That Bind. Talk about a beautiful heartfelt gift of love WOW! Please read the story Thomas shared with us below...

I'd like to begin by saying how grateful I am to have been a part of this project. It started with Kris asking me to make just a charm, but then a couple of people had to drop out, so she said I could go ahead and make a tie too. This ended up being unexpectedly cathartic for me. See, my dad died from complications following surgery while being treated for esophageal cancer a few years back, and I happen to have a few neckties that were his still hanging in my closet. I just can't seem to throw them out, but he was a much taller man than I, so his ties are simply too long for me to wear (not to mention our very different style choices). So, I figured I might as well start with one of his old ties for this project. What I didn't expect was that I ended up thinking of him the whole time I was making the piece. For hours, as I worked on his tie, I recalled how much he loved building and making things. We did model cars and rockets, decorated cakes, assembled all the Christmas toys ("When all else fails, read the directions!", he used to say), we worked in his shop together, and he never stopped me from getting into his tools, even when I left them outside and they got all rusty. Thanks Dad, I still have some of your wrenches and your sockets. Projects like this one are so very important, for cancer invades so many of our lives, and we must never stop fighting it any way we can.
Thomas Ashman
http://www.blacksheepartist.com/tiesthatbind.html

Close up of Tie

By Thomas Ashman

Charm By: Thomas Ashman