Every once in a while some creations just need to be revisited. Maybe at the time they seemed complete, or perhaps just “good enough” because nothing else was coming into your imagination. Then later, for whatever reason, a thought pops into your mind and you immediately know what it was that needed to be done. I love those moments! (The ones when you realize, not the ones when you don’t have a clue!) If you’ve looked at my website you know that I make collaborative art pieces with my husband, Mark, using metal. Most of the pieces are created from discarded parts and other recycled materials. Last year we created three new wall sculptures, including the one that just got a “do over”. One piece was specifically for a commission and the other two (including the do over) were the Plan “B”s – in case the client wasn’t as pleased with the original piece as we hoped or (even better) wanted additional pieces. They stuck with the original piece that they had commissioned (show here after it was installed):
One of the parameters for the commissioned piece was that they wanted the metal to be sealed, unfinished, instead of painted. So we finished all the pieces like that. The piece that I still wasn’t completely happy with traveled around a bit and then ended up back home, hanging in the garage next to the entryway into the house. So I saw it everyday until it just became part of the background and I didn’t pay that much attention to it anymore. Then a week or so ago Mark had a request for a piece to be hung in an upcoming show. That piece fit the bill but I couldn’t let it go out again until I was happy with it. One thing that bothered me about it was that it was very “flat”. It had some dimension to it as the pieces were welded on top of each other but basically it laid flat against the wall. Had we been at square one then welding it in a more curved fashion would have been the answer but now I would have to figure out a different approach. The pieces on the outside of the sculpture were fairly thin & flexible so I was able to bend them to where they curled up and away from the wall, adding some of the dimension I felt it was missing. Okay…it was getting better but is still just wasn’t there. Then I remembered a diferent metal wall sculpture that recently sold and how taken the customer was with the way it was painted. Ah ha! That might just be what I was looking for. I am a big fan of the ‘hammered metal’ type of spray paints…it is shiny but also very textured and it keeps with the metal appearance of the pieces. So out came four cans of that in various colors and away I went. I love to layer & blend with spray paints just like I do with acrylics, ink, paper or even pixels on the computer. First a coat of one color, then a highlight of another, a spritz of a different one, some dark followed by some light and a drizzle of paint drops here & there to add interest. After working it for a while I let it sit, went back to it and did a bit more work and, FINALLY, I feel like it is now finished! Here is a photo of the complete piece plus a close up detail so you can see the painted finish:
It will be on display along with it’s “sister” piece that is already hanging at the Continental Office Environments showroom, 9202 East 33rd Street, Indianapolis. On Friday, March 13th from 5 – 7 pm Broad Ripple Art & Design will have it’s “Second Friday Opening” there!
A Randomly Creative Blog 