Another assemblage

 

The following post was originally published in April, 2014. 

Sometimes I think I've found my calling when I rummage through my found objects and find things that make me happy.  Today is no exception.  And from all the comments I got on my first assemblage, you seem to like them, too.

This is my latest offering.

The very heavy metal pieces are ear tags for cattle.  A friend gave them to me when he cleaned out his garage one year.  I added a can lid, a washer, and a bolt, all things that were of no use to people who were getting rid of them.  Although the mirror, at the very top of the assemblage is new, it went through the flood that consumed my basement a few years ago.  The glass bubbles and butterflies were from my stash and new, but I needed something to add a bit of color to the piece.

I'm not sure how clever this title is, but if you don't like it, we'll blame it on Bleubeard.

Here is a side view that shows the size of the block I used and a bit of detail of the piece.

More detail shows the tags were either made by, or came from a serum company.  The mirror had been sitting in rusty water at some point.

I love rust, and this assemblage is no exception.

Today is Day 9 of 22 and I reposted another assemblage I created that I named "Forty Five (and Counting)."  I hope you enjoy it, because I hope to add more assemblages to my repertoire, along with fabric and paper.  Thank you so much for visiting today.

 

Assemblage fun

 

This post was originally published in April, 2014.

I've wanted to create an assemblage for awhile now,

and the idea of using found objects to create one fit perfectly with the concept of recycling.  So I grabbed a few metal pieces, and set out to create something fun.

I began by covering one of my 12 inch X 12 inch X 1 inch (30.48 cm X 30.48 cm X 2.54 cm) wooden blocks with paper scraps.  I laid down bits of watercolor to create a bit of color.  In addition to the metal pieces, I got out some of the Sculpey I had been given in exchange for a tutorial, and made a few faces and hands from a mold I own. 

As I was creating this piece, those words kept running through my head, so I knew this was what I had to name it.

Some of the details are shown here.

Today is Day 8 of 22, and I recycled a block of wood, several pages from books and dictionaries, a rusty can lid, a metal ring, and a metal piece I have no idea what it's called or what it was used for in a previous life.  I also managed to use some of the Sculpey, too.  Please enjoy my Mother and Child Reunion and thank you for visiting.  

 

Creating a simple wind chime

Everything today came straight out of the recycle bin (or my rust bucket), except the electricity!  That's why I am once again joining Try it on Tuesday where their theme this fortnight is Recycle Something.

This etcher may be older than me.  Seriously.  It did a good job, though, and I wish I had some of my calligraphy friends' skills.

Five lids, cut with my can opener that safely opens cans were used as "substrates."  The nail came from my rust bucket.  The hammer is one I broke one year and it now lives in my studio for performing small jobs.  

The wire hanger, the bane of anyone who has ever had dry cleaning was paired with colorful telephone cord wires in which I had previously removed the outer sheath . 

I love these wind chimes.  I wasn't sure it would actually make noise, but it does.  Since I have no place to put them on my front porch, I wanted something to hang out back.   That is when this idea took fruition.  It was perfect for my rusty clothes line.

It jingles and jangles and sways in the wind.  And boy, do we have wind!

Can you read my bit of humor?

"Wash, rinse, dry, fold, repeat."

This is Day 6 of 22 leading up to bEARTHday, and I recycled five rusting can lids, one rusty wire clothes hanger, and several yards of deconstructed telephone cord.  It may not be beautiful, but it sounds great and all it cost was the time it took to create it and a bit of electricity.  Today, you will once again find me at Try it on Tuesday.

Thanks for your continued support of my recycled art leading up to Earth Day.

Rust Is My Friend!

I've been slowly working my way through my office, where I've kept all my art and swaps up to this point.   I can't believe how long it's been since I completed the International swap with five other friends: Dianne in Ohio, Norma in California, Valerie in Germany, Chris in England, and Annette in Scotland.  I created three rust inspired spreads for my own altered book, and needed one more.  You can see the first three here.

Yesterday I realized I still had not put the pages I received, or my pages I created, into a 3-ring folder, as I said I would.  So I got out my 3 hole punch and went to town punching and punching.  Afterwards, I created this piece I call "Rust Is My Friend."

As the title implies, I'm once again joining Try it on Tuesday with their latest challenge of My Friend (which can include human, animal, imaginary, even rust).  But rust is also a color.  Corrosive, perhaps, but a color none-the-less.  That's why I including it with Yvonne's chosen theme of Colo(u)r in my World at Art Journal Journey.

I love the rusty goodness of this piece, but the metal lid was so dimensional, it took three thick sheets of pop dots to raise the little boy off the background.

I had to let everyone know that rust is my friend.  The irony of this is, as I was assembling this, I saw the date and the fact today is also Sunday.  Purely coincidental, but fun to find.

I punched holes in the lid using a large nail.

I then wove heavy wire through the lid and onto the assembly.

Besides using glue, I also sewed the ends of the wire

into a rusted wet wipe (thin wet wipes are not to be confused with thicker baby wipes).  Both the wet wipe and the paper underneath had been rusted, hopefully adding to the dimension I was looking for.

For this piece, I began with card stock, added handmade paper, book paper, and a wet wipe I rusted.  I then added the metal lid, rusty wire, and sewed everything in place.  Finally, I added the words I hand wrote using a gellyroll pen, and placed the little boy on the lid.

Please join me today at Try it on Tuesday and Art Journal Journey (or you may click the links on my right sidebar).  And thank you for visiting today.  It means everything to me that you would check out my art on your day of rest.

Every Summer and Africa

Every summer there is one day that we vividly remember.  It's one we will talk about until winter sets in.

It's what we call a perfect summer day.

It might be one filled with fun and laughter, shared with friends and family,

or it might be one we chose to spend in solitude and reflection.

It might be one where ocean waves slapped against the shore,

or we stumbled on a starfish (sea star) drug up from the ocean bottom by the waves.

This perfect summer day

practically writes its own story.

It needs very little embellishing.

It is perfect just the way we remember it.

Materials for this page began with a used file folder I colored using pale pink acrylic paint.  While still wet, I laid a page from an old telephone book on top, then ripped it away, leaving bits and pieces of the thin page behind.  I backed the computer generated sentiment with more of the phone book page that picked up the same color.  The focal image came from a magazine.  I added white stickles to emphasize the waves, and a dimensional starfish.  Because I felt it needed something more, I used my hand made chevron stamp at the bottom of the page.

 

Thanks for joining Bleubeard and me today at Art Journal Journey as we share a perfect summer day that is loaded with summertime love.  It may even be a perfect summertime day for you, too.

Because time is quickly running out on Moo-Mania and More's Africa theme,

I created this entry that should meet the requirements.

I had printed this quote by the Dalai Lama for another (very different) AJJ entry, but I thought it would go well with an African spread.  I used a watercolor crayon to knock down the bright red paper I printed it on, but when I did, I got the orange crayon on the image of Africa.   I probably should have printed it on different paper, but I already had it glued to the page before I realized what a mess I had made.

I found this giraffe charm in my stash,

along with an iron-on patch in the shape of a giraffe. 

The word "Africa" in the second photo above was on the package of twisted wires that I used as embellishments.  The wires were made by African women who support themselves and their families by creating these embellishments and selling them under a licensed contract.  Since I am in favor of helping women from ANY country, this project appealed to me.

The above African inspired metal piece began as an earring.  Since I don't wear earrings, and would never wear anything that large anyway, this was a perfect embellishment.

I found this piece of handmade paper I had printed the words "Out of Africa" on for another project (specifically my 7-Continent altered book).  Even though the colors weren't especially right for this spread, I used it anyway.

The image of Africa came from a geography text book copyrighted 1965.  After I scanned the image, I lightened it in PhotoShop until it looked like a watermark.  I didn't want it to out shine the other elements on the page.

The materials I used for this spread include a used file folder I swiped with three colors of acrylic paint, two wire embellishments made in Africa, an earring, a charm, and an iron-on patch from my stash, two strips of wallpaper, handmade paper, a scanned image from a geography text book, watercolor crayon, and computer generated text.

Thanks for sticking around to see this summertime Africa spread I created for Moo-Mania and More.  Both Bleubeard and I appreciate it and your continued support of my art.