I Am the Same Boy My Mother Used to Kiss

Twice a year a bunch of friends who met through the magic of Valley Ridge Art Studio try to continue their friendship by gathering at various locations to make art, eat meals together and generally have fun.  For the second time, the group gathered at Shake Rag Alley in Mineral Point, WI to celebrate what we call Make What Ya Brung in May of 2015.

To prep for the weekend, especially because remote art making means limited access to tools, supplies and space, I decided to get a head start on my project.

When I bought this corn planter, I knew some day I would make it into a figurative piece.

From the moment I saw the shape I knew it would be female so that is what moved me to go gathering in my basement for more of the ingredients.

I always preach that the number one thing to figure out when making a wall hanging piece is how it is going to hang on the wall.

Because I wanted the ribbon to run down the middle of the planter, I decide that the bolts that would hold the piece to the wall would also hold the ribbon that runs down the middle of the planter and the head that would fit on top.

Next up was to figure out the armatures that would hold the arms and legs to the piece.

The last step I prepared at home was to attach the arms to the planter.

Then it was off to Shake Rag.  We have three days and nights in the Quonset Hut on the grounds in Mineral Point.  While some of the folks got out there Thursday night, I drove over from Milwaukee on Friday morning.

This is my work table.  You can see that one of our priorities that we learned at Valley Ridge is space makes all of us very happy.  

 I so I begin to prepare the...um, let's call it The Exit Shute.

Mom gets painted up and bejeweled, adorned with a little head piece.  

On Saturday Kelley Clarke and I made what was to be an early morning run over to the Amish Wal-Mart in Ontario, WI.  We did not get back til mid-day and the pictures will tell you why.

I came home from the Amish Wal-Mart with a ton of rusty stuff for future projects.

Even though I work three days on this project, I had to finish it at home.  I decided to hack an old piece of circular wood into two so that I can attach it to the back of the piece to give it some depth.

 A few nails into the wood and it is time to attach the legs.

And so, after working at home, then at Make What Ya Brung, and then back at home again--we have "I Am the Same Boy My Mother Used to Kiss."  The title for this piece comes from a poem by Mark Strand.

The best thing about Make What Ya Brung is how everyone lets everyone do their own thing and we all get along so well.