Wednesday, March 2, 2011

"Gris-Gris For The Itinerant Artist" (new art!)

"Gris-Gris For The Itinerant Artist" (c) 2011 A.M.H.Lockard

I have worked and worked on this piece.
It started with an anchovy tin I saved and stashed in the studio. It kept calling to me. Saying, work with me, make me into *something more*.
But an anchovy tin is small; I mean small. And I kept setting it aside, and it kept catching my eye.
Having finished one piece for my online class, I felt trying to get a second piece done, along with color washes, etc, was pushing it, but that danged little tin was there.....niggling at me. Thus, what you have here.
Small tin, lots of meaning, big name, big art.
Happy artist! ;-)

Texture abounds....
I added insult to injury by burning myself numerous times during the making of this little gem, and also caught a couple of the elements in it on fire.....I should not be allowed to OWN a heat gun of any sort. (and this was just with the embossing tool, not my commercial heat gun or torch....this is why DH insists I have a fire extinguisher in the studio...)

Crushed shell....the *gravel* of New Orleans.....

While small, it is rich with hidden meaning. 

Contents and wishes, offerings, gris-gris...

The third life of an old timer bell.....
I'm not sure I will write it all; there is a lot. But there is sentiment too, as the base is the bell section of an old timer my dad brought from the factory we worked at. It was broken, he fixed it, I used it for years before it gave up the ghost again and yet I saved it.
Now cannibalized for parts, it has another shot at a third life. And the gris-gris container has a place to stand. 

My trademark blue butterfly, with flame, representing inspiration and the soul.
Perfect.
Sometimes, the very small things speak volumes and the broken bits we save, in turn, save us.
I love this recycled art idea.
There is so much possible.......




Pax....

36 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

An anchovy tin has never looked so good!

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

LOL!!!
Anchovies are truly a *love-or-hate* thing, are they not??? ;-D

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Mary Helen-Art Saves Lives said...

Anne this is an amazing journey in a small tin can...be careful with that heat gun ...they are vicious to little artist hands. I hope today is a good day for you lady...for now the sunshine is out but still very cold. I a headed down to the studio...yo keep me on task by sharing the return to objects...the process is the most wonderful and yet frustrating element of making complex arts. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

I was just getting over to your blog to comment! Great minds and all...LOL!!!
Sunny here too but very chilly. I am working on a small gift today. :-)
Yep, anything I can burn or stab myself with, well, it's going to happen!
Have a productive studio day my friend~~

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Georgina said...

I love that piece!! I have many types of cans in my collection of stuff. If you need a mini-cigar can or box for any reason, let me know...I have a plethora (love that word!!). I also have Altoid cans, dating back to my cigarette smoking days...as if Altoids were going to hide the "stink!" My brother's girlfriend adds clock works to her Altoid cans and calls it art...I think not!! Oh well, art is in the eyes of the beholder, right???

Loves ya,
G

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Thanks Georgina! I might take you up on the tin offer--I cannot eat Altoids but love the cans!
I had a ball with it, but it was a real challenge.
As far as the clockworks? Hmmmmm.......oh well! ;-D

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Bunny said...

Oh wow you are totally amazing. This is a new meaning of going green. I will now look at a tin in a whole differnt way. I am no artist so never think the same as your wonderful mind. Hugs Jeannie would have loved this too.

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

LOL! Bunny, I bet Jeanie would get a kick out of this! Sometimes the fun is just seeing what happens when you TRY something new---like you and your portrait quilt!

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Jan said...

where did you dig up this artifact? that is what it looks like, something discovered in a crypt and rescued. It is great, Anne! All these elements brought together to create this tiny but hugely meaningful piece. At first I thought one element was a porcupine quill but now I see it is an old paintbrush. Wonderful detail.

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

That is what I want..artifacts. Something to look at and try and find the previous life of.
Oh, that paintbrush was a real headache to get shoved in there! It fought valiantly but I won the battle! LOL!!!
It is just a cool piece now that it is done.....I am glad I stayed with it through the hard spots!

XXOO~~♥
Anne

GlorV1 said...

That is just excellent Anne! I love that you used the bell stand from long ago with memories of your Dad. I like the way you do things, alway creating and recyling. That tin can has new meaning and a new life. Your Dad would sure be proud. Thanks for sharing, have a great week. Now I'll mozey out of here and make a few more visits and then.....start straightening out this house. :() Take care.xx

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Gloria,

Dad and I used to sit with a tin of anchovies and saltine crackers and eat them till they were all gone! Oh my! I don't do that too often anymore---the SALT!
But there are a lot of personal things in this, and I like the idea of reuse and recycling. I love outsider art anyway....not that this qualifies, but it is quirky and that meets the bill for me!
HAve a good one!

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Lorraine said...

love your assemblage pieces..hope your fingers have healed from the burns..I remember burning my leg when trying soldering! thanks for visiting my blog today your lovely comments are valued

Tomás Serrano said...

I've just came here from Vanessa's blog looking for laughs and I've found an artist: wonderful art!

studio lolo said...

Anne, this is my new favorite piece of yours!! I think it was worth the burned thumb times two, don't you? And I adore the blue butterfly aflame. I didn't know that was your trademark but I'm all over it!
What do the three x's mean? This is the secind time in as many pieces that I've noticed them.

I love your passion for the things you do. It comes through loud and clear!

~♥Lolo♥~

yoborobo said...

Anne - it is so amazing! I will write more, I'm on the proverbial dash, but I wanted to tell you WELL DONE, you artist, you! xox Pam

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hi Lorraine,

I love-love-love the colors you use! Your blog is so bright and appealing! Keep it up!
Yep, I've healed, and I used to solder for a living (yikes!)---those burns are NOT fun! ;-)

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hello Tomas,

Welcome! Usually I am ranting and funny, but now and then, art slips in here! LOL!!! Delighted you stopped by~~I shall check your blog also.
Come back when I am having a Blogger fit...or when my tractor doesn't want to run...that's when the humor gets going. ;-D

XXOO~~
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Lolo,

I have used blue butterflies in several of my other canvas pieces; sometimes they are very obvious and sometimes more subdued. I love the flame above the head as inspiration. In folklore, butterflies represent the soul. And yes, this was definitely worth the burns! LOL!!!
Oh, the three X's.
In voodoo, marking a tomb with three x's and leaving an offering means you are requesting a wish be granted. Generally this is frowned upon because it is considered defacing cemetery property, but you can imaging how many were on Marie Laveau's crypt. It was a visual texture I will never forget and I like to use it in my work as a symbol of the culture in NOLA.

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

GO PAM GO!!!
See Pam Go---Pam goes FAST! ;-D
Okay, I'll behave now....well, TRY.
Thanks my friend!
Don't go too fast....

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Anonymous said...

Oh, the blue butterfly was such a surprise on the back, love it. Grunge and texture and black and offerings, the humble anchovy tin brought to wonderful heights. Great work Anne. Two words - kevlar gloves. xox Corrine

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Corrine,

I'm thinking KEVLAR SUIT!!!! I was just at your blog~~two ships passing.....in cyber space!
Thanks for the kind words my friend!

XXOO~~♥
Anne

marilyn said...

You are channeling, yes??? Amazing piece!

Carol said...

Fabulous! And your blue butterfly is really beautiful. You'd better eat more anchovies...

audrey said...

Very, very, cool - in every way!!
♥ audrey

Gayle Pritchard said...

I love the "shrine" aspect of this, and of your work in general.

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Ladies,

Thanks for the kudos!
Am I channeling? I am beginning to think so....it's like I have hit something deep inside that has finally allowed itself to be tapped. I am very happy with what is happening.
Carol---anchovies are DEFINITELY on the menu after I get the B.P. taken...LOL!!! (all that SALT)
And the shrine shape seems to be popping up more and more in my work......
I'll just let it flow, see what happens next.
It is wonderful to not be bound by one medium, to feel confined to one single way of doing things!

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Elena said...

Love the symbolism, the textures, Dad's memories...the burnt flesh....Awesome work Anne! Now, do I have to come over with the steel-toed shoes to kick your butt or is your head back in the game today?

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Elena,

My head is off somewhere in the ozone, as usual! LOL!!! Thinking up other things to alter, sear, glue, paint, change, cut up, tint or otherwise bend to my command....heeheehee! (with wiser use of the heat gun or finding my welding gloves...I may look for those...)
Tomorrows post will be a little more insightful--things I have been thinking about for around two weeks.....

XXOO~~♥
Anne

dandelionlady said...

I love how you transformed it! I see that you're giving away the secrets of rusty things. I own and love that book. It's so inspiring. I hope I have time soon to do more little shrines. Thanks for sharing your beautiful, fascinating work.

Unknown said...

Holy Smokes ANNE!!!! you are amazing with these ideas of yours...what a clever piece...love all of your cool ideas that pop into your head and head out of your Studio!!!

Keep it up!!!

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Girls,

Thanks for the uplifting comments!
I just wish I had more time for all the ideas that rumble through the gray matter...*sigh* If they didn't take so darned long to MAKE....

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Bella Sinclair said...

Oh my, very cool, Anne! I think the butterfly on the back is an exceptionally fitting symbol, since you have given all these pieces new life.

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Thanks Bella,

I love butterflies and wish I lived where some of the beautiful blue ones dwell. We have lost so many to habitat change and chemicals....
I just keep them in my art and heart! (no cases with specimens!)

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I'm very glad you finally heeded the siren song of the anchovy tin...obviously that wee little tin had art in his heart and just needed you to bring it out. Do, however, be careful when you're playing with fire!

*Ulrike* said...

If we all did more recycling think of how much we would be saving especially by creating something as wonderful as what you make. You do crack me up with the fire extinguisher, sort of reminds me of my late mother-in-law in a funny way!

Post a Comment

Talk to me Dahling!
I'm waiting, breathless...... ;-D