I've been working on a three part collage project...using the nail drawers I picked up at an estate sale last year...my first box, "precious life" was completed without a hitch...details on that project here...
My next box, "cre8" was nearing its completion...but it was missing something...I was focusing on numbers...and the ways that numbers can be good for measuring and qualifying/quantifying...but also jumbled and confusing and twisted...I was casting about for a quote to tie it all together...and the idea of "taking aim" stuck in my head...
Ok...I am a believer in karma...no sooner had I grabbed onto that thought of taking aim...and noodling how I would incorporate that into my box...Laura Tringali Holmes, an artist friend who I follow online, was offering up vintage targets for artistic pleasure...I could not believe how serendipitous it all was...I immediately responded that I had to have a target!
Earlier this week, the targets arrived...I cut one down to size and glued it into place...it was meant to be...
the finished box...
Each box in this project contains a Little Blue Book...I wanted to incorporate the book into the piece and yet have it be available for closer examination...thus the book hangs from a hook in the top cubbie...
the old metal caster wheel spins...repeating its message...
Laura organized an online group of the artists who received targets...where each of us can share our creations...while waiting for glue to dry...I grabbed another target...and using leftover scraps on my worktable, pieced together this version of "aim high"...
I have another target left...what to aim for now...?
One:
Take a dilapidated stool top that has long ago lost its legs...
scrub it down, sand the rough edges, add a little wax for shine...
Two:
Find 4 old casters...with great rusty patina...wash them up...add a little oil so the wheels roll...
Two & one-half:
Gather up 16 screws (4 screws for each caster)...granted they don't all need to match since they are on the bottom side of the stool top (holding the casters in place) and no one will see them...
Its actually short of a miracle that I could find 16 matching screws in the basement...but that's the joy of buying a house from someone who did the remodeling and left all his remaining materials in the basement...over 10 years later, I have yet to buy any screws...
Three:
Put it all together...and you have a charming pedestal to display/organize/highlight whatever you desire...
dessert on a buffet table, supplies in your office, discoveries from a nature walk...
or just a few daisies from the garden...
Joining the party over at Funky Junk Interiors and Knick of Time's Tuesday Vintage Style...
plenty of easy summer inspiration...check it out for yourself...
Sometimes I just have to stand in awe at the design expertise of Nature...beyond exquisite at times...
case in point...
lavender buds from the stems in my garden...miniature nuggets of pure sensory delight...
oxidation of metal...water working its magic on steel... that results in the patina know in other words as "rust"...
construction of a wasp nest...in a perfectly formed geometric configuration...
the colors, textures and shapes of nature are a constant source of inspiration in my work...
I will never be able to replicate...but I can appreciate...
and document...my adoration...
Joining Kim Klassen's Friday Finds...
a weekly online forum to share the simple pleasures of everyday occurrences...
Just as one project winds up...another begins...
now I'm prepping for my August art show, Fresh Paint, here in Everett...
I often have a couple of ideas for collages rattling around my head at any one time...I knew that I needed to get working on one or two of them to be ready by show time...but as I was cleaning up from Farm Chicks...and clearing out the basement...my muse had a better idea...
I had created two assemblages for Farm Chicks...staging vintage items that told a story inside a large glass jar with a rusty funnel for the top...they generated a bit of interest at the show, but ultimately came home with me. I liked the idea but struggled with how to make them into permanent art pieces...until I came across the wooden nail drawers I had picked up at an estate sale, gathering dust in the basement...
The nail drawers were part of a huge basement workshop...each drawer held a different size nail...easily organized and within reach of the work bench...but at the estate sale, everything had to go...including the drawers...so I grabbed three of them...
I cleaned them up...whitewashed the inside to help highlight the enclosed vignette...and went to work figuring out how to attach each piece and build my vintage story...
Progress to report...one box is completed, another is almost done and one waits in the wings for additional inspiration...
The basis for all three boxes begins with one of the Little Blue Books I picked up last summer...read the backstory here...interesting mini-volumes...that aren't always blue in color...but always intriguing topics...
"Precious Life" examines the prospects of this young lad as he ventures into the world...
The metal spool is music wire...
wound so tightly...
much like the young man pictured...
The quote on the side of box
perhaps prompts discussion...
What are you doing with your one wild & precious life?
"My greatest skill in life has been to want but little"
Henry David Thoreau | Walden
I've just returned from a summer vacation in Wisconsin...and have spent the last day getting back into the home routine...most of my visit was spent with family, but of course, there was time for junking...
We visited one of the largest flea markets in the area...and though there was much to tempt me,
these are the few prized possessions that I brought home...
The watch parts and knobs will find their way into art collages...the hotel silver pitcher will likely organize nails/pins/screws on my work table...though its dented, it was only $2...and the mark on the bottom was what cinched the sale..."Morris Hospital Supply Co Inc. N.Y.C."
But the best find (and big ticket item at $5!) is this letter/number stamp. I've seen plenty of these old rotating stamps with numbers...but never with letters...with which one can spell out a variety of possibilities...
Sharing my treasures over at Kim Klassen's Friday Finds...
a weekly feature that celebrates the simple pleasures of life...
Summer vacation...the sweetest words of the English language...
I'm going on a summer vacation...with my sister...to visit siblings, friends and the old hometown in Wisconsin...
sans computer...so I'll be taking a little hiatus from blogging...
But I'll be posting photos of my finds/adventures/inspirations on my Instagram page - http://instagram.com/fourcornersdesign#
I invite you to come along on vacation with me...
Though there has been fresh paint in my studio, as I begin working on my next art project...
its the Fresh Paint Art Festival in August that I'm talking about...
A wonderful two day art show, all along the promenade of the Everett Marina...its a great show, a gorgeous location and a fantastic weekend event...how could you not attend! It's my fourth year participating - don't know my booth location yet...but the dates are Saturday, August 17 and Sunday, August 18...sponsored by the Schack Art Center...more details here...
A sneak peak of some of my new work...
Hope you will mark it on your calendar & stop by to see me...
It was a beautiful summer day...the kind of day that really makes Seattle shine...
It was a trip into the city to one of my favorite spots, Watson Kennedy Fine Home...with one of my favorite artist friends, Jody Cain, riding shotgun, so we could take advantage of the carpool lanes...
I had a delivery of goods for Ted Watson...owner extraordinaire of Watson Kennedy...and then we looked around the store...always so many wonders to behold...
the new and the stylish...
the old and the treasured...
seasonal shades of white...
and words of wisdom...
Before heading back home, Jody and I walked up to Pike Place Market for lunch...Beecher's is heaven...if good bread and creamy cheese is your idea of manna...was going to take a pic of our sandwiches...but we were too busy eating...
all in all...a wonderful summer day...
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