Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Family Heirlooms

I've got a lot to learn... The computer aspect of an art business is part fun, part confusion. But one thing I learned this week was that I want to focus this blog on my art a bit more, less with the various ramblings.

So. Today is my dad's 81st birthday (wait, I WILL bring this around to my art...) and he's been wanting me to create a piece for his back yard. Most of my work is not meant for being outside, so I've hesitated because I didn't know what that would be. But last week, when he visited my new studio, I showed him the piece I created for WNCC's Recycled ARTicles show. I had used an old steamer lid that I'd grown up with; it's full of dents and stains and is basically kind of gross. But with character. Anyway, turns out the lid was my grandmothers, and my dad remembered it well from many dishwashing sessions as a kid. (That's the kind of family heirloom I received...) Anyway, as it was a recycled piece anyway, I decided to re-recycle it into something he could gaze upon in his yard. So now the well-used steamer lid has a new life as garden art. And the best part is, he won't have to wash it.






Steamer Lid Shield,
mixed media
Melissa Lanitis Gregory

2 comments:

A Journey Illustrated said...

I like the piece it morphed into. Very cool. I like the story behind it too.

melissa lanitis gregory said...

Thanks...I actually prefer this piece! He liked it, but seemed unsure about having the spectre of his mother looming in his backyard!