The piece pictured above is one I did a year or so ago titled Stargazer. One day at the Goodwill bins, Nils found a very, very old flashlight for me. Coming home, I paired it with a block of wood (from the bins) and a very old bunson burner from Nils's stash. Inside the lens area is a transparency of a woman looking out. It was one of those 15 minute pieces that I love for its simplicity. Often working quickly, without too much thought, garners the best results.
Today after yoga we saw an estate sale sign which we followed up. The garage was packed with tools, dozens of duck decoys (new), 1000's of Hot Wheels, and not one thing that caught my eye, till we headed into the back room. There we discovered the owner had been a taxidermist and there were all the furs and hooves that were part of his trade. I vacillate between being captivated and repelled by these pieces, but I love skulls and bones so.... What's the difference? I guess the fur and all seem closer to what these animals once were. Then, just as we were leaving, I spotted one of those little metal cases that often house screws and nuts and bolts of various sizes in individual drawers. But when I got closer, I saw the drawers were labeled bird, elk, raccoon, caribou, wolverine, etc. And inside the drawers were the magnificent glass eyes that seem to give stuffed animals a spark of life. The eyes were just spectacular, and I immediately knew they were the find of the day. $80 for the box seemed steep until I came home, counted the eyes, then looked on the internet at prices for them and found I had about $500 worth of amazing eyes to use in my art. Can't wait to see where they lead me....
(Stargazer copyright by Diane Lou 2008)
No comments:
Post a Comment