Archive for August 11th, 2008
Art from everyday materials and recycling.
Today our children were playing with a broken umbrella, a dangerous weapon! I was about to throw it in the bin, when I thought I would see if I could transform it into something. So I cut the bright pink material from the metal frame, which now looked like an injured robotic spider! While I played, twisting and bending the frame, the pink material turned into a light weight poncho! Then I cut a heart shape out of it. By now the frame was looking slightly like a tree that attaches itself by twisting around its branches. I started to cut strips of the pink fabric and tie it onto the contorted metal, sometimes adding knots and other embellishments for fun! The original idea with the strips of material was to invite people to write their wishes or prayers on it. I also thought about hanging in outside so it could do a kind of wind dance! Like the Tibetan Wind Horses also known as Prayer Flags. I have made allot of work that is about time, the elements and the environment, often ephemeral. These have been documented with photography and I have made them into small hand bound books, which I have for sale in the Secret Gallery. The books and folding and can be displayed as hanging pieces, held up by a piece of drift wood. The recycled umbrella piece in also hanging in the Secret Gallery and hanging upside down looking like a very play-full chandelier! It has the little heart coming out from its centre, and currently awaits your wishes and prayers!