Perhaps someone reading this has been wondering what I’ve done with the silks from these ears of corn I’ve been using. So far, I’ve used the husks, cobs and kernels in various ways to make the 9 current projects, but the silks have been completely ignored. Or have they?
I have been collecting and saving the silks. I didn’t know what I would use them for. They sat in a plastic bag, and eventually began to mold. After yesterday’s experiment with preserving kernels in wax, I thought of doing a similar thing with the silks. This time, I would simply drop them in water in a jar, as if they were a specimen floating in a jar of formaldehyde.
The effect was beautiful and at the same time disgusting. The strings float gently on the top of the water, with some stragglers drifting towards the bottom. There are large black pieces, which is how the silks came on the cob - I assume it’s dirt and after a while it will dissolve into the water and settle at the bottom. As it looks now, it reminds me of the heartworm-infested dog heart that my veterinarian used to keep in his office to scare pet owners into giving their pets heartworm prevention medication. It looks like something that was alive and is now dead.
I am keeping the jar in an area of the apartment that gets a good amount of sunlight throughout the day. I wonder if anything will grow in there.
I like that this is the final piece of the 10 day project. This piece is a culmination of all those that came before it: the silks in this jar are from every ear of corn that I used.
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