BEST MADE PROJECTS

String figures: a summer pastime 

A few years a go I was introduced to John Cohen and his collection of Harry Smith’s string figures (click on misc). These were actual string figures that Harry Smith collected from across America and glued to black board, which together created an amazing anthropological / folk record. Ever since I laid my hands and eyes on those I’ve wanted to either start my own collection of string figures, and or learn how to make them myself (what a nice way to pass a summer afternoon?). Introduction to String Figures (a free downloadable book) will help get you started, and is where we poached these nice illustrations. 

A few years a go Cabinet Magazine did a nice piece about string, and in it a mention of string figures and Harry Smith. The article quotes Mark Sherman, director of the International String Figure Association, about the kinesthetic feeling of producing a string design as he showed the author several ornate figures. “String figures, once completed, are dissolved within seconds. The wonderful thing about string figures is theprocess of making them … the feel of the string on your fingers. The kinesthetic sense of making string figures is the same gratification you get from flying a kite; you can feel the tugging of the string—
the motion is what’s pleasurable. There is a sense of tension, and then when you drop loops off your fingers and display the design, you have a sense of release. It’s a very dynamic process.”