I created "Under Lock & Key" from keys that were to be discarded. Photo by Prudence Smith "Jindy" was carved out of a piece of ornamental peach tree that had to be removed from a property before a new house could be built. The male nude torso now reclines amongst some Dendrobiums in Manly. Photo by Mary-Anne Barnes.
I have been working on a project for the last couple of months, using old keys. Lots and lots of old keys. It's finally looking close to finished, and that feels great.
It was a huge learning curve to work out how to stick keys to each other neatly and then shape them the way I wanted. I will be putting this piece into the Spring Discovery @ Stony Exhibition coming up in August (24 - 30). Come to the exhibition and see the finished piece. Here are progress photos to entice you... Last night was the opening of Upcycle/Recycle and it was a great night. I was inspired by the way creative people use all the resources that accumulate after their first 'new' use is over. Angela van Boxtel, an inspiring champion of the planet, used inner tubes to create a comfy chair. Her own comments are always a great read, and she has done a great job documenting the opening and the art works created. Check out her blog post called Green With Envy. This is my entry. I called it 'Copper and Tin in Plastic' because copper and tin are components of Bronze and I was trying to replicate the look of an old bronze with that green copper patina. But the piece is made out of plastic bags. There is a wire armature, but I built the body around the wire with plastic bags that were heat shrunk into place. The finishing colour takes it out of the realms of discarded waste planet pollution and into the category of collectable (in my humble opinion). The great thing is that this process lets me use up a lot of plastic that might otherwise end up in the ocean.
I am still working on the technique and process but every time I do a bit more I am encouraged that this is a good way for me and many people to stabilise plastic waste and turn it into something better than a discarded product. This is a drop in the ocean for a huge problem. Plastics are difficult to eradicate from our global environment. It would be best if we could re-learn life without plastics and have less manufacture of the material around the globe. I am excited to have entered a sculpture into an exhibition coordinated by Stephanie Powell. This is a great way to promote the reuse and re purposing of all 'waste' materials that are the result of our consumer society. Here is a sneak peek of my entry: You can see the whole piece when you go to the exhibition. See you there.
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AuthorThe northern beaches area of Sydney is a lovely area and I am lucky enough to have lived here all my life. Archives
October 2017
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