Thank goodness for cave people and their doodles on cave walls. For years I have used their work as an example of why it's OK to "leverage" another artist's idea. It's one of my little sayings: "If artist's didn't steal each other's ideas, we'd still be making cave paintings." Picasso said it was OK, too but then again he was kind of a schmuck.
Actually I love the Picasso quote (it's way better than my cave painting mantra.) He said, "Bad artists copy. Good artists steal."
Which brings me to the work I stole today.
I stumbled upon Jane Wynn's site with her shrine art that caught my eye because it includes modified toys. How cool is that? Seemed like it would be a lot of fun to create. She even has a really beautifully done book with descriptions of her techniques. Technically I don't think it's stealing if someone creates a manual on how to heist the goods.
This afternoon I created a nifty little box with prissy little pearls and a gold hollowed out egg and contrasted it by slamming rusted nails along the top and side. fun. My favorite part is the way the nails are rusted on the outside of the box but the tips that are emerging inside the box are brilliant gold. This piece oozes with symbolism.
I could seriously get into this stuff. You start with a wooden box and some paint and then you find yourself rummaging through the house for little items to maim, destroy and repurpose. I played around with her toy modification techniques and I'm happy to report that my next objet d'art is going to include a winged anteater.
Here's a sneak preview:
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