Workshop Beetle
Title:Workshop Beetle
Materials:
Size:
Art Type:
Artist:Lena Shore
Date:2015
Categories:Artwork, Polymer Clay
Because of miscellaneous, benign life events, I have been on an art hiatus kicking and screaming. I finally started this little guy a few weeks ago and was happy. Then I spent a little too much time at the keyboard and had to give my arms and wrists some time to recover. I am historically terrible at finishing work that has had a break in the middle. This makes this piece especially special to me.
As for the inspiration for the piece itself, I am a bit of a magpie. I save all kinds of little things for no real reason other than I “might” be able to use this for something. Waste not. Want not. I go on walks and pick up odd items. I go to the beach and pick up shark’s teeth and odd pieces of flotsam. My current favorite treasure area is the old alley behind our local coffee shop. It’s littered with little pieces of glass and tile from other eras. I make a point to pick up something each time I walk through. A few months ago we got serious about cleaning out the basement. We spend a little time on it each week and it is coming along. But, I realized that I have collected not only my own box of “treasures”, I have also inherited other people’s. Recently, I was at a garage sale and bought one of those little boxes with all the drawers to keep nuts and bolts into. I just wanted the box, but they sold me the contents as well. Add another bag of workshop “treasures” to the collection. Maybe one day I’ll sell my own buckets of junk. But, I certainly won’t be throwing them away. Much like my predecessors (I suspect) I see a bucket of possibilities and not just junk.
I look forward to creating more pieces with found objects that inspire me. Digging around for bolts I found some real gems I had to set aside for next time.
He looks like a magical keyhole in some mysterious story that opens up a wondrous and terrifying secret.
(That’s a lot of adjectives!)
Thanks for all the adjectives. Maybe I’ll make the secret one day.
Love, LOve, LOVe, LOVE, LOVE!!!
Oh yeah, if you haven’t seen somewhere in Time, you should see it. And then you and Kevin can come visit me and Paul in Mi, and we can take you to the island where it was filled and the Grand Hotel. That part is just some travel fun, but silliness coupled with getting to see us. :0)
Steampunk Workshop Somewhere in Time Romantic Bug!!!
Yep, your piece moved me. <3. Great creativity! Great piece! You did Great!!! :0)
Filmed. Silly typo.
BTW: was one of the pics supposed to be a video with music. You noted music, but none of the pics worked for video … so just wondering if there was a glitch.
No video. I just put down an example of music I was listening to when I created the art piece. (:
Ok cool. No glitches is a good thing. :0)
Hiya Lena!
I loves this bug OH SO MUCH!!! I read your story, and I love it. <3 But I have to tell you … my visual experience here was very different from the story you explain and the name you give this piece. … Takes me back to an art interpretation class I took. And my experience as an educator and a concept known as Context Dependency.
As soon as I saw this beetle, I was flooded with thoughts of romance and time travel and the movie Somewhere in Time. (Have you seen it? Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour) … Well, so … when you look at this piece, you've got this adorable lovey beetle, and then there are the keys and locks … like the keys and locks to hearts and love (I mean, look at those keys … they're romantic looking keys) :0) … and then there's the clock face or something that looks like one … and the wingnuts, nuts, sprokety gear things … all making me think of the working pieces of a clock … and time … and then there's the penny … the penny that enabled Christopher Reeve to travel back in time to be in love with Jane Seymour …
And what I see is love and happiness and the most romantic time traveling beetle ever!
So, I'm not entirely certain what steampunk is … sounds cool, though … but if it's not the most romantic love filled time-traveling beetle bug … then my context dependency (the sum of me and my experiences and how that colors what I see and how I learn and interpret it) took me somewhere else entirely … and I am in love with this beetle piece. It touched my heart, and I thank you for the unexpected personal delight! :0)
Over and above that … congratulations on coming back to finish this piece, when that's not usually been your strength (I'm exceptionally grateful you did!). And SQUEEEE that you got to do art!!!! Finally!!! Stupid computer work getting in the way of all this wonderfulness!!!
It's funny. Silly, I guess, but we know that's me … but I'm so emotionally moved by this beetle. LOVE IT!!!! <3
Wow. That is the most amazing compliment. The idea that my art inspired your imagination is beyond words. Thank you so much for telling me.
I have not seen “Somewhere in Time”. Maybe I should.
Did I say steampunk? Of course, you could be right. It is very “steampunk”. Steampunk is the idea that everything is still powered by steam. It inspires technology, design, fashion, etc.