Wednesday, we meet again. Since I’ve started this contest giveaway, it feels like the week is shorter. It seems like yesterday since the last giveaway and once again, no video. My throat has been killing me all day and I don’t want to put you through that. Are the videos even necessary? Did you guys watch the first two? They are some what fun to make aside from feeling awkward in front of the camera. Maybe shooting for a new piece, blog post, and video every week was a bit much. Enough of me thinking out loud.
I know it sounds repetitive and cheesy but seriously people, great titles! The titles are so different from each other as far as style and which part of the piece you chose to base the title on. It is very interesting for me to read them as they come in because it makes me view the work in a different light. I try to put myself in your shoes and figure out where you are coming from. But as you know, there must be a choice and I am the decider! That sounded very self-important…
On with the prize! The winner of last week’s Free Work Wednesday is Brad with “Stand By: The Zebras Are (For) Real”. The submission made me laugh right away. It fits well as a continuation of the text in the piece which is difficult to deal with. Does one base the title off of the text, add to it, or disregard it completely? I choose to add text sometimes because combined with certain images it can lead to comical outcomes, this being a perfect example. I try to limit my use of text in my art but sometimes I just can’t help myself. The kids are standing by the smokestacks proudly yet the youngest seems to be declaring with his facial expression, “It can’t be true!” Well, Stand by…… The Zebras are for real! What can I say, it made me laugh.
Another reason, I like the title (and I literally just thought of it while I was writing this post) is that Brad’s MC moniker is ‘Brad Real’. For those of you that don’t know Brad he is a local (INDY!) hip hop artist. I just realized that it reads that the zebras are for Real (Brad Real) like he is almost claiming the piece while relating to his name. I don’t know if that was intended but it sure worked. Well sir, this week’s piece is yours now. Congrats and thanks for taking part in Free Work Wednesday, the weekly contest giveaway where you (the people) help me name an original piece of art. If it fits well enough and I dig it enough, it’s yours for free. That’s that.
On to this week’s piece. Since last week’s piece was mixed media on handmade paper I thought I would switch it up again and have this one in a frame. There is also some hand made paper in this piece only it was pressed into a mold to form an oval shape. The frame size is 7.5″ x 8.25″ x 1″ deep. The mat opening measures 3.5″ x 4.25″. The frame is a shadow box frame where the work is in the background and the mat is up against the glass. It lends itself to a nice effect.
The materials used were as follows: acrylic paint, spray paint, mesh backing of scrap floor tile, scrap cardboard, shellac, wood glue, hand made paper pressed into oval form, broken piece of a 20″ Sabian ride cymbal ……R.I.P. 
………., mustard yellow sticker, collage image of a pork roast, solder, and a metal screw.
Good luck this week. Who knows what you’ll come up with. That’s half the fun!
