To continue my post about collecting and using Mundane items in craft and art I’ll share with you a little project I began earlier this year.
I’m an artist and therefore I’m a collector (I don’t really know any artists who don’t collect SOMETHING odd or beautiful!).
Starting with stickers and stuffed animals in childhood I’ve now elevated some of my collections to things a bit more valuable but sometimes I love to collect the “Mundane”. These types of collections usually begin with an idea or something that sparks my interest, visually or otherwise and it runs its course, I explore the possiblity and eventually let go of the collection. Thank goodness for that because I’d probably be considered a “Hoarder” if I held onto everything that ever caught my fancy or sparked a creative idea!
So, I’ve been collecting these little colorful plastic bread tabs (tags, clips, whatever you call them) for about 2 years now, maybe even 3. My friends and family have also been collecting little stashes of them for me. They are always asking if I’ve started to use them yet. “What are you doing with these again?” “Oh, I’m not sure yet.” I say…”I’ll use them in some art project.” Well, I finally am! I was inspired to start playing with them about a month ago. I love the colors and the shapes and I can’t even tell you where all I’ve found them. Most recently I found a whole bunch at the county fairgrounds imbedded in the partially frozen gravel and dirt. No, I didn’t sit there and chip away to get every last one but I got a few. Like anything, once you begin looking you will see them all around. I feel I’m picking up the currency of a future piece of artwork when I find one and this series of work is titled “Our Daily Bread”.
Here are a some of the works I’ve created so far. They are really just studies and play, experimentation with something mundane to see where it will lead. It may lead to more experimentation and it may lead me to a larger work, design or collection of work. For now, I’m enjoying the “mundane” possibilities.
I’m very interested in not only exploring the form/shapes and colors but also some more esoteric meaning I’ve begun to associate with these bread tabs. The title of the series “Our Daily Bread” refers to a Christian passage in the bible (Matthew 6:11) but I’m not really exploring anything associate with religion here. What I am exploring are the practices of breaking bread, sharing meals and the issues surrounding food and agricultural shortage around the world and found currency. If you have any thoughts you would like to share or comments about this new project please leave them here!
Do you collect anything “Mundane”?
Painted Desert Ring by Margarita Mileva
