Tag Archives: found object

Arting for 365 Day 45: Attachment

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Day 45 (6/12/12): Attachment

~5.5″ cirmcumfrence x 3″ Mixed Media: Seeds, egg shell, ink, paper and lid

It’s funny, the things we get attached to. A lovely blue water bottle whose lid sometimes leaks or an old shirt with holes here and there may seem average, but they are anything but. We worry about them if they are misplaced and are quick to defend their value.

I think for most of us it is not so much the “thing” we get attached to as the memories and feelings we get that are associated with the thing. This, I realize, is why I seem to have become a bit attached to the little seeds I collected weeks ago.

Each time I pull them out to work with I am reminded of the jog we were on when we picked them off the ground. I remember feeling so excited about the prospect of making something from the found little treasures. When I create using the little seeds, I always feel very calm and at ease – enjoying the simple act of building up form.

The seeds are now dwindling. I’ll be able to eke out one more piece if I’m lucky. After that, I’ll have to wait in anticipation for another year to roll around so I can once again collect them.

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This piece available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/listing/102046424/attachment-found-object-sculpture or by emailing me at micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 37: Winged

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Day 36: WingedGoal: To create one work of art each day for 365 consecutive days

I brought my seed things with me to my parent’s house this last weekend, thinking they’d be a good out of town project to work on. I felt proud for remembering to pack them since typically I am really good at forgetting things. My pride quickly vanished as I realized that I had forgotten the acrylic coat that keeps the little guys preserved (or at least that’s my hope). But bringing them still ended up being a good thing. I found out that the plastic bread bag I keep the non-coated seeds in is not, in fact, the best way to store them. Turns out they had begun to get dry and brittle. Shocking, I know. I thought for sure this is how all museums store their artifacts. So yesterday I coated a big chunk of them and worked on day 36’s project.

Day 36: Winged Left WingDay 36: Winged 2Day 36: Right WingI knew that I wanted to do some more drawing on and stacking of the seeds, but wasn’t quite sure what I had in mind. I began laying out the seeds, gluing them down and then pulling them off. I glued a few more down and realized this thing was screaming to be a moth – which I like.

I became interested in moths a few years back when I learned about how one species in Britain had evolved to adapt to its polluted environment. The one I created is so content with itself; I don’t see it evolving anytime soon.

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3 x 7” Seeds & ink on lid

This work available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/listing/101434913/winged-mixed-media-3d or email me at micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 27: Trust Me. I’m Gorgeous. The Internet Told Me So.

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Day 27 (5/25/12): Trust Me, I'm Gorgeous. The Internet Told Me So.

Goal: To create one work of art each day for 365 consecutive days

I’ve been thinking lately about who, or what, determines what is trendy or cool. What makes a product or venture take off? Why is it that the giant sunglasses of the 60s were laughed at in the 90s and then made a comeback as the next best thing? Why are people so adamant that one product or company or vintage is so much better than another? (Really awesome related story). Perhaps it is easier to be told what to like and go with it, rather than really think about why we may or may not like something. I explored this idea for day 27. I chose to draw a sleek, Doberman Pincher in which I adorned with beads, a coffee filter skirt, and dazzling hand-cut tops. The back of the dress-up doll is crude and messy with only a note that lets us know what we should think of the creation. “Trust Me. I’m Gorgeous. The Internet Told Me So.”

 

 

Day 27: Trust Me I'm Gorgeous Head Detail

 

Trust Me Back of Head Detail

Arting for 365 Day 22: Topographic Trash

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Day 22 (5/21/12): Topographic TrashGoal: To create one work of art each day for 365 consecutive days

As I picked up yesterday’s art material from off of the ground I wondered how smart of a move it was. It was ragged, torn and initially, just looked a bit unsanitary. But upon closer inspection, I realized it – which seems to be some sort of paper- had just been weathered by the recent rain.

I glued my newly found trash-treasure to an 8 x 10” oil board and applied paint to the grooves and mountains of the tattered, island shaped paper. Breaking up the space surrounding it, I painted lines and shapes that made their way onto the weathered surface. I thought that perhaps I could make a beautiful piece from this worn paper but as I worked with it, I realized it had a personality all its own. No matter how much paint I applied, it was going to stay worn and ragged. There was no “prettying” it up. And for some reason, I am perfectly content with that.

Work available for purchase at http://www.etsy.com/shop/OriginalsByMicah or by emailing me at micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 10: Leaves/Seeds

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Goal: To create 365 works of art each day for 365 consecutive days

Day 10: Leaves/Seeds Detail 1I really love running (more correctly – jogging). I am not super good at it and I don’t know if I’ve ever even got a “runner’s high” but I get grouchy if I am not active and more importantly, I LOVE being outdoors. The feel of fresh air is always great and coming across the wonderful little visual treats that nature provides is really where it’s at for me.

A great example of one of these treats is the leaf/seed things we came across while jogging the other day. They were gorgeous and delicate and made me think of butterfly wings. We stopped to pick a handful’s worth out of the grass (yesterday I went back and filled up a bag) and I immediately began thinking of how I might create with them.

After experimenting a bit – laying them out in different ways, contemplating how they might be molded around a 3D object – I started thinking of each leaf as a mini canvas. I coated them with clear acrylic and began drawing. The final day ten project is this floral-like design. It could be pushed a bit further and as I become more familiar with working with these little treats from nature, I’m hoping this will happen.

Also, if anyone knows the name of the tree these great leaf/seed things come from, I’d love to know.

Day 10: LeavesLeaves/Seeds Detail 3

Day 10: Leaves/Seeds Detail 2

Arting 365 Day 8: Time

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Goal: To create one work of art each day for 365 days in a row

FoDay 8: Timer more than a little while -about three years, actually- I have been meaning to take pictures of two ink drawings, which I finally got around to yesterday. As I was taking the glass out of one frame in order to get a reflection free image, the construction paper I had used to temporarily back the work fell out. A once black piece of paper was now showing its age where the sun had bleached perfect rectangles and straight lines. It was lovely and it beckoned to be used in day eight’s project.

I painted a 22.5″ x 16″ canvas, applied acrylic coat to the paper and began painting and adding other cut paper. The geometric imagery at the bottom was much busier initially, which was really distracting, so I painted a good deal of it away. As for the color, a brown palette is not one I’m real chummy with, but I wanted to keep the bleached paper basically unchanged so thought I’d give it a whirl.