Catching Runaway Paint Brushes . . .

I admit to not being a perfect paint brush parent – some might say I am actually abusive . . .

No, I NEVER toss my brush into the water container point down. That would be truly unconscionable, but short of that . . . well . . . not so good.

I imagine there are lots of artists out there who carefully set their paintbrush in a safe place when they change tools. There are brush holders with holes of different sizes, there are ones with a spring coil to stick them in, and there are homemade hacks made with Legos or by cutting slits in a pool noodle (according to Pinterest anyway). You can even throw them handle down into a container without water in it, and then have to fish them out by getting ahold of the ferrule, so you don’t pull them out by the hair.

I haven’t got time for that!

I’m in a creative frenzy, so when I put a brush down, I pretty much drop/throw it onto the desktop. When I go to pick it up again, I can’t find it.

They roll – and are probably trying to run away from me anyway. They get rolling with all the other dropped art tools who are round, and there are a herd of them – all mixed up together and I have to hunt for my brush. Sometimes, it’s on the floor. And my studio floor is flagstone, so that’s not so good.

Does any of this sound familiar?

My brushes are very expensive – I ought to have some respect!

So one day, I made myself a brush catcher out of glass. I did a lot of figuring about how big it should be to catch those brushes flying by, and it had to have a way to hold onto the brushes once they were caught.

I loved the ones I made and started using them. My friends saw them and they wanted them, so I made more. I put some in the gallery at Christmas gift time, and people bought them by the handfuls – for all their artist friends – and for holding chopsticks. That’s ok, I guess. Whatever floats your boat.

My brush catcher started showing up in some of my Instagram sketches-in-progress, and then people in the world at large started asking for them.

And, I guess, that’s how a cool product gets born.

So, I made some more – and I made this cute video (I think it’s cute anyway) to show how the brush catcher actually catches and holds a brush until it calms down after being thrown/dropped.

Here it is – see if you think it’s cute . . .

I had a lot of fun making that.

Anyway, the Brush Catcher comes in all the primary colors (green is a primary color in RGB), and they are two tone as you can see in the pictures. They feel great too, so they can be used as a “worry stone” if you’ve got any worries.

The bottom is flat so it sits still and does not wobble. The Brush Catcher is 1″ x 3″ x 1/4″ and each end has a nicely rounded “cheek” which keeps the brush from rolling up and over the edge.

They are $12 with two shipping options – First Class postage for 1-6 of them is $4.00, and Priority Mail Shipping for any number of items from my shop is $7.50 (including glass palettes). You have to choose the Option in the shopping cart to get the cheaper shipping.

Here’s the link to my Brush Catcher page on my website:

http://www.jessicawesolek.com/brush-catchers.html

And don’t forget to check all the new sketches this week on

SmallTownSketchers.com

Happy Sunday!

jessica

7 Comments

  1. These are much cuter than the “pen” holders some husband made for a calligraphy teacher. Hmmmm…..

  2. Great idea! That is exactly how cool products are made. Loved the video…very catchy. Way to go Jessica.

  3. I’m finally catching up on emails and such. Houseguests coming and going for 15days straight,. I love these holders and will order a bunch. You are so bright and clever!!!

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