Thursday, November 1, 2012

"Secrets"










"Secrets"
    Last year, my nephew Joe who lives in Dallas, found this vintage Coke case at a garage sale. He bought it and sent it to me, with the idea that I 'could use it in my art work'. I loved the case, but I had to admit, it was a much larger format than I normally work in . . . so I cut it down. Oh what a mistake that was. . . only because these old wooden cases were made to exact measurements, and the slats only fit a certain way. . . . putting it back together was no easy task. (and it's not square)
    The pieces of wood sat in my studio for months, and a few weeks ago, I got inspired . . . Recently, my next door neighbors (both in their 90's) found the need to move themselves into an assisted living facility. Soon their kids came and started 'cleaning' out the house, in preparation to sell. I saw, tons, (I mean tons) of stuff being thrown into a huge dumpster. (my favorite).
    I couldn't help myself, I asked permission to go through some of the stuff, of course they said yes. There were many things of interest to an assemblage artist like my self, but mostly, I loved the letters. 
There were hundreds of them. Hand written, vintage stamps, airmail envelopes, photographs, newspaper clips, christmas cards, easter cards, birthday cards.  A real treasure trove. I started going through them and realized that here was "evidence of lives lived".  
    This piece, "Secrets" has little to do with secrets, but rather it has to do with the lives we all live. Happy, productive, sometimes sad, creative and giving. Most people live their lives quietly, not boisterous or tumultuous, or with a lot of fan-fare, but simply, with dignity and with content. Such were the lives in
these letters. 
                                                                                  . . . .
    This piece begins with the letters, a stack of them, cut precisely to fit inside the cubby hole. Other things include a book, crayons, the colors of the rainbow, a ceramic black baby eating a watermelon, a bird and a book titled "Secret Squadron". 
    In the 2nd  half there is an abacus, and wheels that spin. Followed by a world globe that hangs and twirls, a king frog sitting on a golden book, and some comfortable shoes.  All very sweet.

14 comments:

  1. une valise de vie bien rangé !

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  2. Did all the things in your art object come from the neighbor's dumpster of life?
    What a find.
    Love the case too! Nice the way it turned out.
    not crazy about the baby with watermelon. that old "art?" turns me off. But the rest of it is great. Just my personal reaction.

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    1. Thank you Lynn.
      no, not all the things in this piece were from the dumpster. just the letters.
      the baby was sent to me from my sister who lives in Texas (she sells antiques). she sent em two of these. i love them. i think they are wonderful.
      i appreciate you comments, and thanks again for stopping by.

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  3. i love it!! Rebeca, it's so COOL! I do love the baby w/ the watermelon...to me, it's sweet and charming. I know it's offensive to some, but you know, our 'history' is somewhat secretive, and that little square can hold darker meanings. I enjoy the interactive aspect of the moving parts, and reading the letters. What a treasure trove you have, and how cool to dumpster-dive, right next door!

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    1. hey Carole! haven't heard form you in a while.
      thanks for stopping by. and thanks for liking the baby. i love it too. it brings back sweet memories from my own childhood summers. i remember long days of carefree play, lots of games of hide and seek with the neighborhood kids, and my mom would always have some ice cold watermelons to cool down in the afternoons.
      And thanks for noticing the 'interactive' part of the piece. that is my favorite part.

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  4. I am so glad you rescued those letters - someone's record of a life lived - from ending up at the landfill. Isn't it sad to see things like that discarded with no thought to the people behind them. Nice work! Love that look.

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    1. hey Judy
      thanks for stopping. yes, it is sad, it is unfortunate, but i am sure it happens all the time. so we rescue what we can, right?

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  5. Another AWESOME piece of amazing artwork - from an amazing woman. I so enjoy stopping by your blog to see what you're up to. Keep making imagination tangible :)

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    1. Thank you Heidi! coming from you that means alot.

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  6. I hope you get this message because I am no longer using the Juno account.

    I was thrilled to read about the dumpster diving. That is how I got much of my collage and assemblage fodder, at least in the beginning. You did a great job with those letters. If you work with beeswax, they would be fantastic when coated with beeswax. It makes an excellent background and you can apply it to your substrate with no need for glue.

    I hope to get this blogger problem corrected soon, but it seems I'm no closer today than I was last week.

    Bleubeard and Elizabeth

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    1. Thanks E!
      no i have not worked with beeswax yet. i have wanted to learn how to do that, maybe this is a great opportunity to try it.
      i hope you get your 'blogger problem' fixed soon too. it has got to be frustrating.

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  7. This is wonderful, even though it addens me to think that people would just dump letters and things.

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  8. LOVE this piece! I can just picture you having so much fun going through the stuff that was tossed out. It is such a shame, glad you could salvage some!

    I have been so negligent in visiting blogs lately! thanks for stopping by mine and leaving a comment. I so wish you were going to NY! I will take pictures and try to write a good blog post on it to share with you.

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