27Apr
RUSTY METAL | Paper Embellishments
Confession. I love rusty objects!
I collect rusty objects. Rust is by far my favorite color/patina.
Rust is egalitarian in its presentation; depending on the light, and point of view, a wide range of color options are available to the eye.
Rust is very Zen; it evolves, changes, manifests itself in reaction to the varying environmental elements, and manages to bring dignity to the discarded object as it ages.
In this, my homage to the rusty objects of the world, I have made a concerted effort to capture the beauty and inherent spirit that is present in each and every one. It is also my mission to raise awareness and perhaps alter the view of those who have relegated the rusty object to the vacant lot, the landfill, the back 40, those places that hold the hidden, the no longer useful…
No, I did not start out attempting to create rust on paper (although I have given it some thought—being a rust aficionado!). it was a blessed, serendipitous event, a by-product of another project where the initial focus is redirected and the secondary becomes primary. Another way to say this is the splash paper background being used for spraying some cut-out words for a card became increasingly more interesting than the words as different colors were applied. Even M (who sees rust and immediately thinks Tetanus shot!) agreed, the color that emerged was remarkable and worthy of replication.
“Junkyardia Adaptapholia” is the title of the two-page spread (shown above) in my junk/art/photo journal. It represents a culmination of hours of work, experimentation, learning what works, adapting what didn’t work into something else, or putting it aside for future use (boxes are filled with potential wonderfulnesses 🥰. It is a happy page with bits of darkness—without light, there would be no shadows. It is hopeful with the emergence of flowers and moths fluttering, growing towards the light. Rounded edges balanced by sharp pointy ones represent the dichotomy of life, a rose/thorn kind of visual reminder that the qualities of oppositeness define both.
My hope in sharing this is each viewer will come to appreciate or at least recognize what I see in the rusty objects of the world and as you venture out into the world a new way of seeing will encompass, include “the old rusty objects”.
