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  With a little gold spray paint, the rubber ducky no longer represents anything but a gorgeous bit of my chandelier.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....