Monday, May 12, 2008

A scrap of art

Hammered?

I've been inspired by some scavenged art on flickr (teresia, junkyprojects)... also our recent trip to this year's sculpture exhibition at Trull House (I blogged last years)... one of the flickr challenges I like to complete had a category of "flattened" that seemed to fit with these ideas.

I made both of these with things we had already but today I went out twice looking for squashed cans and bottle tops to increase my creative options - it was very odd being a bag lady... and the second time I'd not really gone collecting but was with Jim and had happened to collect a few bits but had no bag to put them in... the world them provided a neat empty cardboard box for me... rather better than a bag!

These two are proof of all the hot chocolate I was consuming last year and the year before... I liked the cans and kept quite a few. Since I gave up sugar at new year I've totally gone off the taste of even slightly sweetend chocolate... how does she know, you wonder, if she's given up sugar, surely she ought not to have had any at all? Good point. But I ran out of the hard to get hold of 99% chocolate and tried some 85% thinking it might by okay... however after the 99% the 85% tasted as though it was pure sugar! And a hot chocolate I had in a cafe was so horrible I couldn't drink it at all... they were very kind and made me an unsweetened cocoa instead.... I had no idea I could so thoroughly lose my sweet tooth... its taken 49 years or so but it seems to have happened!

Fork Lightering Owl

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love your recylced 'people' Caroline! I still have to keep one of my sons out of bins because he creates this way all the time... Are those Banksia eyes in the bottom one?

Anonymous said...

What fun - I especially like how flowery the eyes look.
I love dark chocolate - but I'm not sure if I've ever had it nearly full strength - that sounds rather bittersweet!

Dru Marland said...

I like the flowery eyes too; reminded me of Blodeuedd in the Mabinogion, who was changed into an owl for being naughty. Her name means 'flower eyes'.

Katie used to fill rooms with her 'found art'. We're still keen skip harvesters...

Have you tried grinding your own hot choc? -we whizz it through the food processor, several blocks at a time.

Caroline said...

Anonymous - the last time I had a phase like this I was doing enamels on a weekly course here in Bristol. I started to collage all the scraps that were to be found around the studio - it was used on tother days by jewellers who seemed to spend their time breaking saw blades - I especially liked those blades in my constructions. What was amazing was how embarrassing some of the other students found my rummaging around for bits on the floor... mind you it also made me so happy that I tended to sing and that must have been excruciating for them poor things :-)

I've no idea what plant provided the seed slices - I got them long ago as coasters. I had to retrieve them as I'd thrown them out already before this phase began...

Tinker - Jim thinks the 99% stuff far too bitter. Even the people who work in the shop I get it from admitted they too find it inedible!

Dru - I don't know the
Mabinogion - thank you very much for mentioning it - I love the idea of making owl women, especially if they are owls (that I think of as wise) because they have been naughty... :-).

I hope Katie still makes some now and again...

I really like unsweetened cocoa now - I'd have benefited from your suggestion more when I was still sweeter toothed!

inkberryblue said...

I also love your assemblages, especially the owl. I've had a browse through your card blog too ~ I'm interested in the idea of art as a spiritual, intuitive and healing process so I really enjoyed looking at your soul collages.
...and thank you for dropping by my blog and saying nice things.
=]

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

I love scavenged art, it's whimsical, clever, funny. We don't have it here...I enjoyed it in Jamaica, co-worker's pal used to do funny stuff, made a cat-clock once too.

Caroline said...

inkberryblue - thanks for returning my visit. I love doing Soul Collage when the time is right.

GG - strange that you don't have any - I wonder why?