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!

 

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!

 

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: 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!

 

 

 

Tuesday Trash Bubbles:

Last week, I offered out the E6000 & Duct Tape Trash Bubble as a give-away. It didn’t go over as I had hoped, so I am back to my tried and true method of finding homes for my bubbles… intuitively making and sending.

Today, I offer up a different kind of Trash Bubble. This one is smallish in size and requires no mailing. It is meant as a gift tag, or package topper.

Back in 2013, when GreenCraft magazine published my article on Trash Bubbles! in its winter issue, I showcased several kinds, the gift tag/package topper being one of them. This was the example given in the magazine spread:

FLY is my current example of a Trash Bubble for use as a gift tag/package topper.

Made from a Tim Holtz idealogy blister pack, I utilized the design on the insert as my background.

The dome-like sections provided the perfect space for nesting birdies and the theme was born. Bits of string, thread and other fibers not useful for any other projects and normally considered trash, were used to construct the “nests.” The birds went into the domes first, followed by the bits. It was tricky to strike the correct balance of bits to support the tiny birds without burying them, or knocking them off-kilter within the domes.

Needing to cover up the printed information on the package insert while leaving the design exposed, I used washi tapes that supported my theme. Rubber stamp letters were then used to stamp the title on the piece before I sealed it up.

The back was painted with black gesso and finished with black washi tape. I am unsatisfied with the insecure closure, so I will eventually go back and strengthen it before using it.

That’s it for today. I hope you’ll consider creating this type of bubble for your next wrapping job. Please share if you do.

Happy Trash to you, until we meet again!

 

 

Tuesday Trash Bubbles: E6000 & Duct Tape

E6000 & Duct Tape: How Americans Create Their Life Fixes, has been in the works for a while, if only in my mind’s eye.

As I do not have an intended recipient for this piece, I thought I’d offer it out to my readers. If you’d like a chance to receive this bubble, leave a comment. For two chances, leave a comment and share this post on facebook or your blog. For three chances, leave a comment, share and tweet. I will quit taking entries for the drawing as of Thursday night at 11:59 EST. The recipient will be picked randomly by the Little Guy I hang out with on Fridays. Sorry, domestic mailing only, due to customs issues. Make it fun! Play along!

The blister pack from my latest tube of E6000 was saved expressly for this bubble. The printed tapes? Duct Tape! That strange rectangular black thing? The back of a tiny, broken remote with a broken stretch band wrapped around it! The green whirly thingy came from the top of a squeeze pouch of fruit sauce. That red thingy? I don’t know what it is, or how I acquired it.

Every American knows that Duct Tape fixes everything, except STUPID. LoL! And anyone who has ever used the E6000 adhesive, made in the good old US of A knows that it’s the strongest adhesive, by far.

The American Traveler may not always have E6000 about their person, but Duct Tape? You betcha!

Americans have long used temporary fixes (like super glue and tape) because they are used to rigging things to work, or they’re lazy, or they just can’t stand to part with something that needed to be let go of long ago. Too, there’s that genuine conundrum of not knowing HOW to fix a thing and not being able to pay someone who can. Any way you look at it, Americans are the kings of sloppy fixes that seem to get the job done, even if temporarily.

Best for creating: Metal Ribbon

This piece was a nod to all Americans whose ingenuity or laziness forced them to use one of these products to fix an integral part of their daily life. Too bad they don’t work for STUPID, GOVERNMENT, POLITICS, RACIAL TENSION and the like! If you find a product that does, this girl would love to know about it!

Happy Trash to you, until we meet again!

 

 

Tuesday Trash Bubbles: Pan Lite

Today’s Trash Bubble was made from consumer packaging that closely resembles the product it once held. These kinds of plastic bubbles offer a jumping off point of sorts and I enjoy working with them.

This piece was originally the plastic sleeve for a flash light of some sort. It had spacers that extended out from the main body, to fill the space in the box it came in and keep it from rattling around. I removed those with scissors, as it made securing the sides easier and less bulky.

To begin, I filled the small cavities with game piece letter blocks, giving title to the piece. Next, I added “buttons” to the little divots where it seems the on/off button was on the product. Then I added printed washi tape (Tim Holtz) to the edges to define the piece. Note: static is not your friend when working with post consumer plastic as it is a magnet for the finest hairs and dust, which can clearly be seen in the first photo.

Below are are some photos of the finished product. I had wanted to use short lengths of electrical wires and electronic components, but opted instead for trash bits because I didn’t want someone to mistake it for an explosive device. If it weren’t traveling “naked” through the mail, I would’ve stuck with my original vision.

FRONT:

BACK:

It was fun to assemble. I can only hope that the receiver enjoys it. 😀

Happy Trash to you, until we meet again!