In Case Of Emergency

In Case of Emergency

Not too long ago this was a shiny, new Altoid tin. It had those nice chocolate coated peppermint Altoids in it. By golly I loved those Altoids, so much so that I just had to keep the tin! Not too much later it occurred to me that I could probably make this precious tin into a piece of Art. So I figured I'd start by stripping the paint off. That was no simple task, I tell you what. I ended up having to take the Dremel to it. Eventually I won the battle and gave it an interesting brushed appearance in the process. But that just wasn't enough. Then I realized I had a lonely plastic soldier that needed a home. So I decided to get out the Dremel again and I cut out a window in the lid of the tin and put a nice little sign in the window.

Having done all that, I felt that this little tin still needed some texture - something to give it character. What could be better than a nice crusty coating of rust! So I rusted it! Yah, I did. I rusted it good! Now it finally felt like it had a story behind it. And you thought this was the story! No, this is just the foreword.

By the way, this currently does not have a clear coat on it, as I thought I'd let it rust a little more, but I'll give it a little bit of a clear coating before I send it off to it's new owner. I'd love to be able to send it without the coating, but I'd be afraid that all that lovely rust I made might rub off and that just wouldn't do.

THANKS so much for stopping by!

OilBowl

It's amazing what you can do when you have two bags of plastic soldiers, a heat gun, and way too much time on your hands. I guess it's not unlike chasing ants with a magnifying glass, except in this case the targets are stationary and they're not alive. Actually, you could say I breathed life into them with the help of a heat gun and lots of paint.

Why a heat gun, you ask? Well, it eliminates the need for glue and also allows you to mold the little plastic guys somewhat. You do have to be careful not to singe them though, unless of course you want them singed.

There's a lot more to this project than just melting a bunch of soldiers together, of course. In fact what I've created here is a veritable blood bath of toy soldiers! But it's not just about gore, it's actually more to do with a certain president's oil war.

Oil Bowl

There's not enough oil in the world to cover the blood that's been shed as a result of greed and deceit.

So this isn't just a sculpture. It's a statement.

Height: 4"
Diameter: 7"
Circumference at top: 25"

Additionally, the pedestal is made of five soldiers that are down on one knee, in a slightly off kilter star formation, aiming their rifles outward. The whole piece is melted together, one soldier at a time. I then primed it with gesso and applied numerous layers of paint by letting it run down from the rim via a sponge brush. I started with a few coats of a couple of blood reds, followed by several coats of black. The paints I used have a glossy finish, so that is what you are seeing there. I have not varnished the piece or otherwise finished it.

This sculpture is quite sturdy, but it should be treated as a sculpture and not a receptacle.

*All images can be clicked to be viewed at a larger size.

Flowers For Benazir

Today has been a surprisingly productive day. I just spent the evening working on this collage piece, which involved making two new logos to incorporate as patterns. This was quite a fiddly piece, but I feel that the outcome makes it worthwhile. I'll probably print two versions of this collage, in case there are people who would prefer the patterned background over the white background.

Release

We have recently learned of the assassination of a great, brave, and powerful woman. Her loss resonates through a great many people and her influence reaches beyond those whom she directly effected. I'm sure I won't be the only one who takes it upon himself to immortalize Benazir Bhutto and this is only the first of a couple of pieces I have planned.

You can purchase postcards, prints, t-shirts, and other items bearing this image here.

Work in Progress

I've been meaning to post this here, but I've not been on much lately. It isn't quite finished, but I thought I'd go ahead and slap it up here anyway and then I can post the final version later. I might have some other things to post up here soon too.

(click image to view larger)