When I was 15, hauling traps around the west side of Vinalhaven in July with my uncle, there were buoys everywhere. Hundreds of different color combinations bobbed along in the wake of his faded red 28’ Novi boat, F/V Cinnamon Girl. Some buoys I recognized, the father of a school friend. Others I asked, ‘Who’s color is that?,’ while I tried to cement his reply in my mind. These lobster buoys were first hand carved in wax on a lathe and hollowed out. After being cast using the lost wax process, the master was filed and sanded and then molded. The mold is then injected with wax and cast using the same process. Each buoy is hand sanded and finished with a finely textured and stippled surface. It is then filled with a resin inlay which is colored with pastels, making it simple to mix colors to achieve any desired color. These buoy earrings measure 7/8″ tall and 1/4″ wide not including earwires.
