On the Beauty of Spray Paint....

Now, this may not be the most socially or environmentally conscious stance to take, but I love spray paint.  I always have.  The way it can transform common objects into something new and beautiful inspires me.  Whether it is a chipped Foo Dog statue, saved from the trash, to whole buildings covered in beautiful graffiti murals, the trans-formative nature of spray paint is quite miraculous. 

You can hardly see the chips now!

Spray can wall art @ Failing and MLK
dylankaus.com

After months of ignoring my chandelier project, on one of our rare sunny spring days here in Portland, I finally pulled the work in progress out of the basement.  On a jury rigged contraption, made with two ladders and some bamboo, I hung the beginnings of my chandelier.  Three cans of paint later, and I am starting to like this project again.  For the metal frame work, I used an aged bronze.  I feel this adds a gravitas that is often lacking in found object assemblages.  The outer/undersides of the petals are now a shiny gold, while the inner sides are a crisp silver.  The paint transforms the mossy material into something shiny and glamorous! The way light is reflected off of this formerly dull material has re-inspired me.  In a fit of creative energy, once the piece had dried, I continued on, to disassemble the necklace and gently attach various lengths to each petal.  These pieces resemble multicolored seed pods, gentle dangling below the flower.

Golden Flower 

Dangly bits

Feeling beyond inspired at this point, I decided to tackle one of my big obstacles.... the rubber duckie!  Using a razor blade, I carefully dissected the poor little guy, turned him inside out and attached him to a bit of the amp cord.  This is the stamen of my flower.  With a little gold spray paint, the rubber ducky no longer represents anything but a gorgeous bit of my chandelier.

Devil Duck

Deconstructed

Golden Stamen

Once again, spray paint has transformed and re-inspired.  I am now realizing however, that in order to carry on, I need to deal with the hoarder heaven that is my current basement/work space.  Next week I will let you know how that is going....

How Life Gets Away With You.....

...or really spring has sprung and I'd much rather work in the yard!  Man, have I allowed myself to get distracted lately.  The sun comes out, and all I want to do is go play in it.  Not sit in the basement and work on a chandelier.  A chandelier that I have been struggling with.  This process has been much more difficult than I had originally thought it would be.  This spring, when I left off, I really did not like how things were coming together.  The frame itself came together pretty easily.  I disassembled another old chandelier and used a round metal piece hung with chains to form my base. The difficulty came with the mossy sheet.  My idea was to cut it up and use it as petals for the flower shape.  The sheet itself did not have even edges, so cutting even petals proved to be impossible.  I decided to allow for different shapes and sizes, hoping it wouldn't look too awkward.  The wide ends I stitched to my frame using fine copper wire.  At this point I could start seeing how it was coming together.

The chandelier is kinda looking cool at this point, with a funky organic sort of feel.  Sadly, this is the last time I'm going to like how it looks for months!  I sewed rings onto the tips of the petals, so I could curl them back and attach them to the frame.  At first I thought the petal tips would hang by chain, but that proved way to floppy.  So I attached the tips straight to the frame, but that was too tight.  Finally I settled on some attached and some hanging by chain.  The petals still didn't hold a nicely curled shape the way that I had been imagining.  So with my copper wire, I stitched up the sides, hoping that the introduction of metal would provide just enough stiffness.  

At this point, he chandelier is just looking messy to me and and I'm feeling pretty frustrated.  So I decide to take a bit of a break and get back to it later.  I had no idea that my break would last for months!

The damn light bulb....

Creating a cohesive whole with the numerous and varied items has been quite a challenge.  But I now have a working idea, one that manages to incorporate most of the items, and I figure I will find a way to include the rest as I begin to build this chandelier.

Tentative plan

The elements so far include the mossy material as petal leaves forming the shade of the light, with the plastic bits from the necklace stitched on sort of like seed pods.  Everything else will dangle below like stamen and pistils.

This idea began with the concept of melting and stretching the old light bulb, much like they used to do to old soda bottles at carnivals.  Seems like an easy enough thing, no?  I was very excited to try this, rushed off to the hardware store last week to get a blow torch and began to practice.  Donning protective goggles and leather gloves, I decided to practice on a dead light bulb that I had laying around.  Man, it takes a lot of heat to melt on of those things!  It didn't stretch as I was imagining, however, it just sort of bulged out sideways until it popped.  Not to be deterred, I decided that modern bulbs are probably more heat resistant than this old one that was given to me.  The bulb didn't have a metal socket to hold it by, so I had to try and grip it by it's glass stem that holds the filament.  Unfortunately, as soon as I tried this, my pliers shattered the stem and the top of the glass bulb! 

Faced with the sharp edges of the broken bulb, I took a break and wandered over to the local hardware store looking for inspiration.  Hardware stores are my happy place.  While there I decided to try soldering the edges.  Purchasing the necessary tools, I rushed home with my new inspiration.  Sometimes catastrophe can work out for the best, I thought!  After a few quick tutorials on Youtube, I was ready to begin.  I lined the edges of the glass with foil tape, which is not as easy as it would seem.  The tape doesn't really wanna stick to the glass at all those odd angles, and kept trying to pop off.  Finally, however, I managed to get it on, flux it up and solder it in place.  I also added a ring at the top so that I could hang it from the chandelier.  It now looked like a hanging vase.  I was super excited that it worked out, and rushed up stairs to rinse it off.  Flux, the compound that enables solder to grip other metals such as copper, is pretty greasy stuff.  After very gently washing it off, and then incredibly gently drying it, I took it back down into my studio to start working on my other items.  Setting it on my work table, the bottom immediately broke.  Ok, I thought, this is fine, I can still make this work.  All my soldering stuff was still out, so I carefully lined the three holes that had popped out the bottom and soldered them.  I also soldered the cracks that had formed in an effort to strengthen the bulb.  Feeling that I should use as much of the bulb as possible, I also soldered the pieces that had broken off, thinking maybe I could dangle them under the chandelier as well.  At this point, I had an epiphany.  Solder is designed to bind two metals together, what if I used it to reattach the glass bits back to the bulb?  It worked, it was super easy and it looks cool!  This is when I had my second epiphany.  What if I soldered a hoop on the crystal, and then dangled it inside this new glass sculpture I had made?  This also worked and looked amazing, like something Barbarella would hang from her rear view mirror!  Totally excited, I ran upstairs to show my partner how cool this was, and immediately broke the bulb again.  Apparently, swinging a crystal around inside a fragile glass bulb isn't the best idea.   This time, luckily, it was only cracks.  I took the crystal out, soldered the cracks and tucked the bulb away in a safe spot, not to come out until it was time to hang it on the chandelier.  Unfortunately, I forgot that and pulled it out last night to photograph it for this blog.  I'm sure you can guess what happened next.....  At this rate, the bulb is going to be all solder by the time the chandelier is finished!

The light bulb

The latest crack, bottom left

For now though, I'm done with this bulb.  I want to focus on other things, such as the frame for this chandelier.  I'll get back to the bulb later.

Oh no... what have I gotten myself into!?!

After filling up my Element with a hefty load of junk and stuff from the basement, and dropping it off at the local Goodwill, my work space feels much easier to work in.  There is still organizing to do, but for now, I want to get right to work on my chandelier project!  Though after unwrapping all the items that were delivered, I am having second thoughts on this whole endeavor!

The loot

What a completely random assortment of stuff!  The mat is some sort of moss attached to a netting back, there is a rubber duck and a plastic fish, an old light bulb with no base, a crystal, and some one else's art made from found metal objects.  And that is just to name some of them.  Counting the collections of things as one item, I now have thirteen things to work with.  Considering that only nine people came through, I have a few over achievers in the bunch....

Something I hadn't considered when I started this process, is receiving objects that I would feel morally awkward about deconstructing.  Normally, as an artist, I will tear anything apart to create something new.  But I received two objects in particularly that I am struggling with.  One is the found art object- I am having trouble wrapping my head around the idea of taking apart someone else's art.  Or even just using it as is in my own piece.  The other is the vintage syringe.  As a vintage dealer, I have a well honed love for old things.  The way utilitarian items used to be made is truly phenomenal in our current disposable age.  Even though the glass on this syringe is broken, it is still so finely, and beautifully crafted that I can't imagine taking it apart.  Not to mention, I know some very fierce people who collect vintage medical equipment, so I know how coveted a piece like this is.   I suppose the question is whether I can figure out a way to respectfully use these items without compromising the finished chandelier.

Found object art, syringe and ducky.

While I battle with that dilemma, I have begun to put together a plan of sorts.  However, what is starting to percolate in my thoughts will require me to learn some skills, mostly involving flame and metal.....   and a trip to the hardware store.

And it begins....

Last week I posted the challenge on Facebook:

Hey Facebook friends- I am working on a new project and need your help! I am looking to build another chandelier/light fixture out of found objects. What I need from you, my loving friends, are the objects. I am looking for ten people to bring me one object each that I will then incorporate into my fixture. I will provide the electrical components. This is a challenge to myself as an artist, so feel free to get creative! I would like the objects within one week- so by Wednesday the 12th. If you are interested in helping me with this challenge, please respond here. The first ten will provide my objects! I will provide updates and finished pictures as I progress with the chandelier. Thank you in advance- Blesty

Literally within minutes of posting my request on Facebook, I had a commitment!  Over the course of the next three hours, ten people stepped forward in excitement to take part in this experiment.  Honestly, I was blown away with the rapid support.  I wasn't even sure if ten people would come forward to provide me with objects, and I really thought it may take up to a week to get that many commitments.  I wasn't ready for such a speedy response!  In fact, more than ten people tried to get in on the action!  I found that I had to actually dissuade extra people from trying to participate.  This wasn't a request for stuff after all, as the picture of my basement testifies, I have plenty of that!  For me, this was an effort to impose limitations, therefore I wanted to stick with ten.

That night I decorated an old crate I had, to put out on my front porch in order to provide a receptacle for the objects.  This way my volunteers could deliver the objects at their own convenience.

This was Wednesday night, on Friday, a snow storm blew in.  Any amount of snow is enough to shut down the entire city of Portland, and this was actually a fairy large storm for us.  The storm managed to shut down the city for the entire weekend and into Monday.  While this was a great amount of fun, (Portlanders LOVE a good snow day!), it did mean that by Tuesday the 11th, my poor little Objects de Art crate was sadly empty.  So I extended the deadline until that Friday to give my volunteers some necessary time to get it together!  After the extension, the goods started to role in!  It felt like Christmas!

Goodies!

Even with the extension, some didn't get their items in until Saturday... fashionably late, I guess.  And one didn't come through, sadly.  But nine people brought an amazing array of items.  I can't wait to get started.... but first, I think I need to clean and organize the ol basement work space!

The Struggle

     Lately, I have been struggling as a designer to find and keep my inspiration.  I started this year off strong, making two beautiful chandeliers.  The act of creation stimulated me so much that I created a whole business around the selling of housewares.  Starting with an online Etsy shop: (https://www.etsy.com/shop/BlestIndustrial?ref=si_shop), my business quickly grew into physical space, and I am now selling out of a booth at the Monticello Antiques Marketplace in Portland.  Unfortunately, my inspiration to design has dried up.  I go down into my work space and just feel overwhelmed.  Admittedly, the basement, where my work space is, has become over crowded with the influx of stuff from my new business endeavors, as well as quantities of stuff I have collected with which to build new chandeliers.

I'm beginning to feel like a bit of a horder....

     The worst part, is that even with all this stuff, I find myself unable to start a new chandelier.  In fact, I believe it is because I have collected too much stuff.  The possibilities are unlimited.  For an artist, however, unlimited possibilities are not necessarily a good thing.  All one has to do is look at the Star Wars movies to see this principle in effect.  The first three, when George Lucas was working with a limited budget and limited special effects technology, changed not just how movies are made, but the very culture that we live in.  The last three movies, when he had everything he could possibly want at his finger tips, had a much more minimal impact.... to put it nicely.  While ruminating on the nature of limitations, sitting alone in my basement work space, I've also realized that I spend far too much time by myself.  So I've decided to try an experiment.  I am putting out a call to my Facebook friends, asking for ten people to commit to bringing me one object each.  From these ten items, I will attempt to craft a beautiful (fingers crossed...) chandelier.  I did not put any limitations on what they may provide or what constitutes an object.  These objects, I hope, will give me some needed limitations, as well as challenges (who knows what I may get!) that will guide me as designer.  I will provide all the electrical components, any binding agents, and a base structure if necessary.  I have no idea what to expect, or even if any of my friends will care to take part in this experiment.  But I am hoping that this not only re-stimulates my creative fire, but also helps me connect more with my community.