Now .. back to being creative ..

I'm going to guess that I'm not unique in the fact that at any given time, I have a bunch of projects in various stages of completion.  I start a piece and then am not sure exactly where I want to go with it.  Or maybe I knew when I started, but as it comes together, the original idea no longer feels right.  So I put it aside until it speaks to me again sometime in the future.  Sometimes that's a week later and other times, much longer than that. 

 

This is one of those pieces.  The finished piece is actually pretty close to what I originally imagined, but it just took me a while to realize that's where I really wanted to go. 

 

The name of this piece is ... TRUST

 

The base is plasterwrap over cavas and wire.  A space for vintage rusted tin was cut of the canvas and installed from the back.  The doll is made from plaster with an old naturally flattened bottle cap for her crown. 

 

And what's a 'naturally flattened bottle cap", you ask?  Well, it's an old bottle cap that was rescued from the parking lot of an old bar that is now being used as an office building.  The cap was naturally flattened by the coming and going of the bar's patrons over the years.  I like the idea of using things in the exact shape I find them.  I could always flatten my own bottle caps, but these have so much more character.  And somebody's gotta clean up that parking lot!  Thanks to my sister for taking on that responsiblity and making sure my supply will not run out any time soon.  She's always bringing me wonderful old rusty treasures! 

 

Anyway ... as most pieces I put together, this one had its own 'happy accident'.  The trusting soul holds out her hand offering her heart.  When I baked the clay heart, I got side-tracked (surprise!) and as a result, one half of the heart was burned to the point of being blackened.  My first thought was to toss it and start over, but then I realized that this was indeed a 'happy accident'. 

Her half burned heart represents the fact that she has been burned before, but is still willing to offer her heart. This makes her trust that more meaningful.