W is for Welcome Back!

BREAK FREE… THINK… GREEN!

 

Get ready! Trash Bubble Tuesday returns on May 1st!

Each week’s post will feature one or more Trash Bubble variations created by individual artists. Whenever possible, we will include a few words from the artist about their creation and their art practice.

The hope is to provide readers with an opportunity to more deeply connect and engage with the artist’s vision on the theme in an effort to inspire others to create beauty and meaning from the everyday discards of the detritus of life.

If you have a Trash Bubble creation you’d like to be featured in an upcoming Trash Bubble Tuesday post please mail it in! Details of the original mail art call can be found here: https://trashbubblesandlifeslittlebits.wordpress.com/2017/08/21/monday-morning-mail-art-call-trash-bubbles-a-poetic-exploration-of-trash/

Happy Trash to you, until we meet again!

 

Another Trash Bubble Update

Since the first of the year, there has been an increase in the Trash Bubbles received at the Studio. A few of them will be sprinkled throughout this post. You can find the others here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/516868958656429/?ref=br_rs While you’re there, join us, won’t you?

From Michael Orr

New Bubbles continue to come out of the studio, as well.

The deadline for the call for Trash Bubbles as originally set forth here: https://trashbubblesandlifeslittlebits.wordpress.com/2017/08/21/monday-morning-mail-art-call-trash-bubbles-a-poetic-exploration-of-trash/ has been extended indefinitely. If you have a Bubble brewing, please send it on. We need all the pieces we can assemble for the mural of your creations that is part of the proposed exhibit.

In addition, I have been researching and applying to receive grants to further the project, Trash Bubbles: A Poetic Exploration of Trash, as it morphed from a one and done exhibit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to a traveling exhibit. The broader scope allows for greater participation and therefore greater impact.

From Alicia Starr

Creative Capital was the first chance I took, hoping that the idea would be edgy enough and interesting enough to garner support on a grand scale, knowing that the project would benefit from artist services as well as the funding. We’ll find out in June if the project will advance. Keep your fingers crossed!

Just this last week, I applied for a Black Earth Institute fellowship. I feel strongly that the fellowship, which lasts three years, will allow me to work alongside other like-minded artists to affect change on several levels while providing peer support and critique for the project.

From Catherine M. Bennett

Eager to get to the nitty-gritty of putting all of our samples to work for the cause, I am entertaining any funding that suits the project. Should you have any ideas along those lines, please feel free to contact me with the pertinent information. You can do this in the comment section, or via the link at the beginning of this post.

Happy Trash to you, until we meet again!

 

 

Monday Morning Mail Art Call: Trash Bubbles: A Poetic Exploration of Trash

There were rumors… people were talking… it was whispered in corners….

Now, it’s official!

Trash Bubbles: A Poetic Exploration of Trash is an exhibit designed to bring about an awareness of trash as art.

Intended to coincide with Earth Day 2018, it is to be an exhibit of my own Trash Bubble creations alongside those created by other artists and mail artists around the globe. In addition, there will be public workshops culminating in a mass mailing of commemorative Trash Bubbles.

The purpose is to bring about an awareness of trash as art, as poetry. These pieces shock and awe on a fun and engaging level. I hope to spark conversation and encourage participation. A venue is currently being sought in the Pittsburgh area, details to follow.

In the meantime, I’d like all of you who said, “I might like to try my hand at creating one of those Trash Bubble thingies!” to get the ball rolling.

Here’s what I need from you:

• Make a Trash Bubble using ANY SIZE of clear plastic consumer packaging. Note: I have found that pieces smaller than 4x6x2 usually require an envelope, so they don’t get lost. A piece measuring about 4x6x2 can easily be mailed without an envelope and currently costs less than $3 to post within the continental US.
• Fill it with trashy bits. Let the bits speak to the viewer, telling whatever story you wish. Think Trash Poetry. If necessary, add words to guide the observer.
• Seal it with tapes, stitching, staples or other fasteners, making certain that your piece will survive the post.
• Decorate the edges if you wish, but leave room on the back to address it to:

Trash Bubbles: A Poetic Exploration of Trash

The Studio at Piney Creek Acres

107 Marigold Lane

New Brighton, PA 15066 USA

• Be sure to include your name, email and mailing address
• Send your Trash Bubble along for inclusion by March 1, 2018
• NO JURY, NO FEE, NO RETURNS
• Join the Facebook group: Trash Bubbles: a Poetic Exploration of Trash to see the contributions of artists as they arrive and to receive updates concerning the exhibit.

This is going to be a grand adventure! I am eager to see your interpretation of the theme.

Happy Trash to you, until we meet again!

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday Trash Bubble: Full Head, Big Life!

The Colgate toothbrush package used for today’s Trash Bubble had been floating around the studio for some time. I hung onto it because its chambers appealed to me, as did the color. I mean, who doesn’t love a little metallic red?

I was going to remove it from its place of honor and put it in the Trash Bubble drawer… (Yes, there’s a drawer!) but then I read the small print, “Full Head – Cheek and Tongue.” Immediacy struck. I gathered a few things and got to work, never mind that there were more pressing things on my plate.

You know me and my literal translations… there just had to be a real head in there! If I’d have had a doll head that fit… but alas, we ended up with a gentlemanly skull, complete with startlingly blue eyes. He’s sporting a Monopoly top hat for the occasion. A Full Head, indeed!

As I carefully threaded the bits on the metal rod, it occurred to me that most people whose brains are full and active are known to lead BIG LIVES, lives of purpose and contribution, lives that are full and rewarding… this guy is no exception. It took me a while to locate the “BIG” bead I’d found on the ground outside a local craft store, but I persisted because I had one of my famous preconceived ideas that are difficult to shake. I backed out the rod, added the bead and a “life” sticker to the old, red, star eraser that served as his chest and began to reassemble the whole.

Full Head. BIG life. Cheek & Tongue.

I very nearly changed the “&” in “Cheek & Tongue” to read “Cheek IN Tongue.” I’m glad I left it alone. It seems funnier somehow… and I’m fairly certain folks will still get it.

There you have it! My process for this particular piece is fairly close to that of other Bubbles I create. Granted, there’s a little more planning, a little less spontaneity in some of the others, but generally speaking, this is how I work.

If you enjoyed this post, you might enjoy next week’s Monday Mail Art Call. I will be issuing a call for Trash Bubbles created by YOU, my readers. The call is in preparation for an upcoming exhibit; Trash Bubbles: A Poetic Exploration of Trash. Be sure to check back for the details.

Happy Trash to you, until we meet again!

Thursday Trash Bubble: PINK!

June and July have been restorative and I am back in the studio creating Trash Bubbles with giddy abandon as I prepare for an upcoming exhibit.

PINK! is a piece that began with a literal interpretation of itself. I believe that this packaging originally held a few sample size bottles of Victoria’s Secret products.

It now contains all manner of PINK goodness….

Appealing to any young girl with a love of Princess Pink, this Trash Bubble is not to be mistaken for a child’s plaything.

The texture-rich interior can be glimpsed from both ends, as well as through the front and back.

The creation of PINK! delighted me at every turn, despite the fact that pink is far from my favorite color. My hope is that you are able to find some level of enjoyment in it as well.

Happy Trash to you, until we meet again!

 

Guess Who Turned 50?! Second Installment

My apologies to all for the wait. I’ve been having difficulty taking pics with my iphone. It was a storage issue… maybe you know it, too? Here’s how I finally fixed it https://www.simplemost.com/free-space-iphone-5-tricks/ thanks to a friend.

Without further ado, I present the second installment of the loot from the call that I shamelessly issued for my 50th birthday. Much of it came from folks with whom I have not had previous contact. I will be rectifying that.

From Bruno Andrews, a foil covered canvas collage.

From left to right: Bonnie Shorr, Illinois – Katerina Nikoltsou, Greece – Henk Vanooyen, Holland and Antonia Mayol Castelló, Spain

Clockwise: Marni Zainodin, Malaysia – Diane Bertrand, Canada – Sharon Stoller, California – Simon Warren, UK – Joey Patrickt, California – Pamela Gerard, California Center: Cindy McMath, Canada

Left to Right: RF Côté, Canada – Amandia Kapsalis, Illinois and Nancy Bell Scott, Maine

Clockwise: Jimmy Connors – Elise McWilliams, Ohio and Karen Wood, California

It is difficult to explain how very much I appreciate these handmade tidings and well wishes… Variety is the spice of life and these folks really managed to spice up my life.

My sincere thanks to each and every one of you! Mwah!

Look for the third and final installment to come later this week. 😀

Happy Trash to you, until we meet again!

Tuesday Trash Bubble: Tiny Junkyard Neighborhood 34

It’s time for Trash Bubble Tuesday!

This week’s Trash Bubble has been unofficially brought to you by Prima Marketing Inc. whose most worthy consumer packaging, meant to hold their Tiny Junkyard Findings; screw heads, became Tiny Junkyard Neigborhood 34! I was inspired by the palette of the package and the following is what transpired.

Tiny Junkyards… they’ve been on my mind for several weeks. Those three little cavities simply craved their own tiny junkyards!

While going through some bits for another bubble, it hit me! YARDS! Tiny, little yards made from junk… with tiny little houses! I knew just the thing! I grabbed my jar of vintage Monopoly houses and started hunting flat, green bits of trash to serve as yards for them.

The tale of the Tiny Junkyard Neighborhood grew in my mind as I worked. Who lived in these tiny green houses with these tiny green yards?

Tiny Junkyard Neighborhood 34 is a neighborhood of equality. Men and women live in harmony. There is no shame. There is no keeping up with the Joneses. They celebrate their days under blue skies and puffy clouds, lit by the sunshine of of a thousand tomorrows! There is joy and love, prosperity and abundance, beauty and peace, for all who live in Tiny Junkyard Neighborhood 34.

Happy Trash to you, until we meet again!

 

Tuesday Trash Bubbles: Pedestrian Crossing

Last week, I was uninspired where Trash Bubbles were concerned. I touched, I sifted, I sorted and looked, but nothing came. This week is another story. I am working concurrently on several bubbles.

Pedestrian Crossing was born of some odd toy packaging that I cut to postcard size around the little bubble attached to it. The gray on gray tire print appealed to me, but it took quite a while to get a workable image going.

The bubble is offset in the postcard which made centering the pedestrian tricky. I painted and stenciled it on the paper backing, then added a broken stop sign brad and a broken toy car wheel. After sealing the bubble, I added the Schlotzsky’s 66 sandwich pick, sealed the edges together with street map washi tape and affixed the broken Toyota emblem.

Happy Trash to you, until we meet again!

 

 

 

 

Tuesday Trash Bubbles: Create Your Own Luck!

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Today’s Trash Bubble is a piece I began and stalled on years ago… If a piece is beginning to feel forced, I’ll set it aside and return to it another time.

Recently, I revisited this one because the colors appealed to me. It was originally the packing for a roll of washi tape whose pattern is printed across the bottom in pink and brown. I’d added the brown horseshoe tape across the top before abandoning it.

“Luck,” it kept whispering….

This morning, I listened to an audio file by Beth Kempton… ‘How To Be Lucky.’ As you can imagine, it had a profound effect on the direction of this piece. The result is the intuitive bubble pictured above.

Imagine! Creating our own luck! Orchestrating our own dreams through self-fulfilling prophecy! Walking with the Creator in perfect harmony, instead of struggling on alone and miserable.

We all have the power to create our own luck. We need only seize it.

“Create Your Own Authentic Luck! This Way… Handle With Care! Good fortune takes preparation.”

The horseshoe tape, the 7 and the wishbone all serve as visual good luck totems. The bubble was sealed with plain transparent tape, rather than add another competing pattern or color to the whole.

The style of this piece and its resulting message are reminiscent of my very first trash bubbles, two of which are pictured in the blog’s header.

Trash Poetry is, for me anyway, an intuitive message that emerges in the creation of the piece. It begs to be set free and delights in its expression. This one is no exception.

Happy Trash to you, until we meet again!

 

 

Tuesday Trash Bubbles: Redux & Received

The closer I get to the Black Mountain School trip, the more I find I have on my plate. Rather than ignore the blog and all of you, there will be times when the posts are simplified. This is one of those times.

For your amusement, I offer this Trash Bubble, one of the original bubbles from my Winter 2013 GreenCraft article…

DREAM BIG: The Inner Critic Silencer

This piece was born of a desire to silence my own inner critic. Recently, I had the opportunity to dig it out for a fellow artist. I thought they might benefit from the messages it contains… DREAM BIG! PLAY! Inspire! Express yourself! Imagine! AND… the sides not shown in the pic say, Treasure Dreams! Discover! Create Art!

The police car is a stress reliever, meant to be squeezed, so it’s soft and lightweight. It made for a powerful message bearer, don’t you think?

Received late last week was this piece from Linda French…

One of an ongoing series, “Junk of Which I am Now Getting Rid.”

About this piece she says, “Dear Lynn, Every couple of weeks I have to sort out and clear the decks. It sometimes takes half a day. This is neither the caliber of art nor the quality of goods that I see in your Trash Bubbles series. I’m sending it anyway. With all the good will I can muster in my now-depleted state, Linda French 55616”

Can you say, “Bubble Love” folks? Look at that full, unused package of 7mm red pom poms! Looks like unused Rudolph noses from a child’s craft project! I absolutely L ❤ VE it! The rubber stamped images, the silk flowers, the gold chain… all on a piece of cardboard packaging! Secured by a rubber band, staples, glue and a yellow paperclip worthy of Bert’s collection!

Yep, it was a good mail day when this arrived! Thanks, Linda!

Happy Trash to you, until we meet again!