"Silver Landscape"

Okay, I was asked to show the work that I entered into the junk art show.  So here's one and tomorrow's post will show my other entry.

My working method for the most part is to over think everything and not let loose.  Which is pretty much what I did with my approach to making something for this exhibit.

This particular piece did come together very quickly though.  I was sitting at a table in my studio, trying to resolve problems with my other piece when I saw the metal clay paper "scraps" from previous projects.  Often I take these pieces which are the negative shapes left by the use of paper punches and use them to make designs on jewelry or add them to my paste pot.  The woven piece would probably have been destined for the past pot for sure, as it would have created a jagged piece (which really isn't good for jewelry.)

In searching the closet for something to use with the pieces I came across some pieces of ebony from my long ago "body ornament" that I made in my college jewelry class.  (Oh God, that class was forty two years ago.)  Those pieces made a nice framing piece for the silver.

Ebony and silver may not seem like junk, but when they are not being used they are.

The silver looks white because that's the way it looks fresh out of the kiln.  It's not a coating, instead it's the silver particles standing on end.  Once they are brushed down the silver begins to show and burnishing it polishes it to a shine.  My original intention was to polish the pieces but I rather liked the white contrast with the black ebony.  I did polish up an extra piece to see what it looked like and didn't like it  (Plus the paper pieces were too fragile to polish without some kind of backing.)

"Silver Landscape"  Ebony and silver on canvas
6" x  9"

I thought maybe the title would help the viewer visualize what I was going for but I'm not so sure..... so I add here a description.  (Note there is a piece of silver directly added to the canvas, below the third ebony piece.

Since this is a blog about metalclay and grandchildren, this post is about my junk art entry dealing with silver.  My next post will be about my junk art entry that deals with grandchildren.