Well... if not where have you been for the last 13 or so years?
Clark Whittington a good friend of mine from good ol' Winston-Salem, NC started refurbishing old cigarette machines to dispense ART instead of cigs. BRILLIANT. Read more here, he has his own Wikipedia page!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Whittington
Anyway I have participated on and off through the years. I've even painted one of the machines myself. My machine was to go to an antique store named Monkey Hill. Clark thought I'd be well suited for the job since the owner of the shop had a PUG and at the time I did too. (R.I.P. Dakota).
The Pug at Monkey Hill supposedly had a seriously long and crazy tongue. Well, I figured this Pug needed to be in the Circus. And that was my inspiration.
The front panel features the long-tongued Pug doing an act of balancing on a ball while juggling Art•O•Mat pieces of art. The side panel features stripes and close-ups of Pugs encircled with flowers.
Clark now has machines and artists all over the world. Check it out!
http://artomat.org/
So any way I have not participate in quite some time. Till now...
With the new jewelry that I am doing I am looking for more ways to get my work out there and naturally Art•O•Mat came to mind.
Now I just finished up a batch today. I'm doing pins. I have to send in some prototypes for approval then it is just a matter of finishing up my 50 pieces and getting them to Clark to be assigned a machine. I'll keep you posted on that. I still need to design a wrap to go on my box that holds my tiny treasure.
I'll give you a brief rundown on the makings of these lil' bits.
1. I take recycled cardboard (like cereal boxes)and use one of my fancy die cuts to cut a bunch of pieces.
2. Then using old fashioned Elmer's Glue, I glue 3 pieces together. Taking care to line up the edges carefully.
3. Next I put them under something heavy to press them flat while they set.
4. I paint the backs and sides with acrylic paint at least 2-3 coats. Plus I sign and decorate each back with black ink.
5. Then I print out on archival paper from my trusty EPSON, pieces of past paintings.
6. Using my same fancy die cuts I trim out these pieces and adhere them to the fronts of the pressed boards. I like matte finish Modge Podge. Which I also use to seal and varnish the whole thing, front and back.
7. Last but not least I use some pretty ribbons from my fave trimmings shop here in the city. M and J Trimming. Wholly Molly!
8. I adhere my vintage brass pin-backs then cover ever-so-neatly with a felt dot!
Be sure to sign up to follow my blog at the top of the page so I can keep you updated on where to pick yours up when and if they are approved!
Shirt featured is from Odd Molly brand. I actually found such in Austin TX amongst all the Western Wear.
Love it! I wondered who was responsible for the refurbed machines! The pins are cute, cute, cute!
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