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!

At What Price, Liberty?

Today I decided to revisit a collage piece that I'd had on the backburner. Sometimes I just have to put things aside to gain some perspective on them or to let them come into focus more clearly. This was one of those projects. And I'm glad I decided to put it aside, rather than try to force it when I originally started it, as I think the end result is much more coherent.

You might perhaps notice a recurring theme? I'm not sure how much longer it's going to be holding court here, so I guess I'll just ride it out and see where it's going. I have some other ideas floating around, but so far they're just enticing me, so I really don't know when they'll be joining the party.

So without further ado, here's today's offering!

At what Price, Liberty?

(I expect you'll want to click the image for a closer look.
There's a LOT of detail in the border!)

It's a Good Thing I'm Picky!

I'm not gonna lie, I'm kinda embarrassed about the earlier incarnations of my current collage. Now that I've taken a good bit of time to rework the colours, I feel that the image has a lot more punch. While it's all well and good to use a few vibrant colours for visual appeal, it can distract, not only from the image itself, but from the underlying message. So I think the reworking of this image has really helped, both with the impact and the message. Before the colours were a bit muddy, aside from being a bit distracting. Sure the glaring brightness might have pointed up the irony of the image, but I don't really think that needed highlighting. Also I think the previous colour scheme competed with more than complimented the image.

Now the only problem is deciding which of the later variants I like best. There are three contenders, but for me it's a tie between two of them. I do already have in mind which one I prefer, but I wonder which one appeals most to others. So here are, what I believe to be, the final three variants of Protect Your Future.

New Artwork!

I think this is finished. I'm going to post it here anyway and, if it turns out that I decide it needs tweeking, I can always post the revised image later.

(CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW LARGER)