Mirthworks Creations

The Mirthworks Creations studio is located near Athens, Ohio in the rural hills of Southeastern Ohio.

Artists Mindy and Larry King have combined their talents to create a beautiful and often startling line of sculptural jewelry inspired by more than 60 insects, spiders, and crustaceans.

Mindy is the driving force behind Mirthworks and it's chief artisan. Larry is a science educator who has been fascinated by spiders and insects as far back as he can remember.

Mirthworks Creations
19530 Lafayette St.
Guysville OH 45735


 

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Luna MothMonarch Butterfly Katydid Blue Crab Mosquitos Spiderling

Mirthworks Creations is no longer a business. These pages are a record of our catalog and a little information on our endeavors. Is it gone forever? In this form yes, but who knows what the future will bring. If you have any questions, drop us a note. Our address is on the side of these pages. As of 2017 we were still alive.

Timeline: 1992-2010ish

1992
Larry creates a sculpture inspired by college calculus and cartesian graphing with parabola created by spiders. Customers inquire about buying just the spiders, Mindy is facinated and Mirthworks is born. First creations, large spiders, then cockroaches and beetles. We resist the "pretty bugs" for a while prefering the strange and creepy. Designs credits equally split between both Mindy and Larry at first, then Mindy takes the design lead. Larry still prefers the creepy and spooky, with high "yuck and shudder" values. We find we appeal to the Young, the old, and to the quirky.

1999-2000
Larry finds that teaching science is taking up most of his time and effectively leaves Mirthworks to his wife Mindy who is the real craftsman of the enterprise. Larry, creative as he is, does not flourish putting in the long hours doing production work. He is not wired that way. He starts talking to the products and machinery. Mindy on the other hand, finds solace and satisfaction in working alone and creating.

2007
Mindy contracts Transverse Mylitis and most of her production work was put on hold.  The spinal injury played havoc with her life forcing her to step back from large scale production. Working helps keep her mind off the central pain syndrome she experiences so she still kept her hands busy by working on small creations and playing with chair caning and restoration.

2010
Mindy's pain 'spontaneously' reduced itself in early 2009 which gave her a new perspective on her life.  Though definitely not pain free, she keeps busy and turns back to her art work. For all but very special purposes, bug jewelry never gets restarted. Other interests take over. Forever??? Unknown

Mindy King works on a butterfly

THE MIRTHWORKS CATALOG

  HOME

  Butterflies and Moths

  Backyard Insects

  Stream & Creek

  Beetle Collection

  Mantids, Hoppers & Walkers

  Insect Pests

  Arachnid Collection

  Undersea Arthropods


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