I’ve had a few inquiries about whether my Funky Junkyard Birds are for sale and the answer is yes. Because I don’t usually sell direct or online, I needed to figure out the best way to make this happen. The first thing I’m doing is listing all of my birds on this blog post with a photo, name, and price. If you would like to buy a bird, please email me (dayna@alleyartstudio.com) and let me know which bird you have chosen and I’ll send you a Paypal invoice. If you live local, we can work out an in person exchange and no shipping will be necessary. If I am sending you your bird, the mailing charge will be $10.
Here is the whole gang, and in alphabetical order, no less!
It is no secret that I am a collector of worn out and tossed aside objects, the rustier, grittier, and grimier, the better. If those objects are scratched, dented, and beat up, my heart skips a beat. Every couple of years, I feel the tug to create a new batch of my Funky Junkyard Birds. I pull out vintage tins and pieces of metal that I’ve been squirreling away over the months, and begin selecting which pieces will be used for making my metal found object birds.
Although I’ve been a collector for years, the idea for creating metal birds came in 2010 when I took Leighanna Light’s Birds Gone Wild class. I was immediately smitten and Leighanna gave me her blessing to make my version of the birds, saying, “Yes, of course, sell away!”
I started my latest batch of birds in February, with an offer from my husband to cut out and flatten the vintage tins and cut out the bird parts: wings, heads, pants, shirts, and bodies. I selected which tins I wanted to use, drew shapes onto the metal, and then turned them over to Howard to cut and sand the razor sharp edges. After a couple of weeks, I had beautiful piles of bird body parts.
In March, the auditions began. This involved combing through my basement stockpiles, opening cupboards, pulling out drawers, digging through bins, and pawing through boxes. I pulled out various found objects that might serve as a body, then tried out different heads. Personas began to take shape; pants or legs were added; an array of wings posed; balancing shape, color, and design. Unique bits and crazy finishing trinkets added to the emerging personalities of each bird.
Once the birds were Frankenstined together, a process that took several weeks, each bird was given a name, photographed, and are now making their debut.
Here are a smattering from the 25 I created over the past four months.
Day of the Dead, year 13, opens Thursday, September 26, 2019, at Guardino Gallery in NE Portland. Not only is this a fabulous group show featuring over 50 artists, it is the place to be for the celebration, costumes, face painting, music, food, and inventive art. I’ve participated for many years, frequently getting into the spirit by dressing up.
My art for the show has always been assemblages and found object art. This year, I created four pieces, all nestled into vintage wood boxes. Three of my pieces are tall and narrow boxes, each with a single chair, a word, and a minimum of objects. In creating these simple pieces, I was thinking about those I have lost and the desire to sit with them for one last conversation.
lost listen linger
The other piece I created for this show is a variation on a design I created in 2017 for a community read project and then for the 2017 Day of the Dead show; this time around, rather than hanging found objects of remembrance on a branch or a piece of wood, I nestled the items in a box, attaching each piece of string with a vintage and aged thumb tack.
I love this show and I hope you’ll be able to attend the opening reception on Thursday, September 26, 6-9 pm, or visit the show, which will be up until October 27.
The Heart of the Matter: A group show about the heart is an annual Guardino Gallery show. I’ve participated the past several years and I was invited to submit art again this year. I created ten Curious Elements with a heart theme. My Curious Elements are found object pieces of art created in a multi-step process. In a nutshell, I cut up pieces of board, apply paint, plaster, sand, stain, and wax. To add depth and interest, I cut up yard sticks, apply vintage paper and a layer of stain. Then I rummage through my bins and boxes of bits, auditioning pieces of metal and sometimes scraps of fabric. When I’m satisfied with the layout and the underlying story, I begin the process of attaching. And that’s how a Curious Element is born – I once counted about 22 steps in the process from beginning to end!
Enough yammering. Here are the ten Curious Elements I created for the show.
The show opens at Guardino Gallery on January 30 and runs through February 23. The opening reception is Thursday, January 30, 6-9 pm.