Smashing bottle caps is more difficult than it is fun. In my attempt to begin a recycled art project I collected lots of bottle caps. Mostly (okay, who am I kidding? ALL) of which are from S. and my own various beer consumption (the ghetto Fred Meyer by our apartment has a surprising wide selection of various local and seasonal beers...guess that's Portland for ya!). I tried attaching these eclectically colorful bottle caps simply haphazardly to my plywood board with the golden "x" but it just didn't speak to me...well, the bottle caps didn't speak to me (that golden "x" speaks to me even in my sleep!). So, I decided to flatten them, and maybe (oooh just go with me on this one) overlap them? in a sort of collage looking effect?? But it is very difficult!
Have you ever tried to (with a clean effect) flatten a bottle cap? I tried just hitting them with a hammer, but that proved to leave me with caps that had more creases and crinkles than the corners of my eyes (yes, I am getting old)! So then I had to very carefully hammer the edges, and then very carefully flatten the center to get my desired effect. Now, although it worked out in the end...after just 3 bottle caps and I came out of my craft room with several sore fingers and probably several sore neighbors (fyi: hammering is loud) almost an entire hour later!
Time for a break! So I decided to be my lazy artist self and walk down to the corner coffee shop for an iced americano and some cover letter writing.
My lesson today is this: find a more productive way of flattening bottle caps...suggestions??
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Sounds like anger issues to me. But then again, many successful artists have built careers on finding unique ways to deal with anger issue--a la Jackson Pollock. Two suggestions: (1) Use pliers to spread the ruffles out. Vice grips work well, too. I have smooshed a lot of pennies this way. (2) A table vice, I think, will also prove effective.
ReplyDeleteNow, I know you're looking for a clean edge, but I think you should explore some more exciting methods of smashing. Maybe you could drop something heavy on them from a high place, put a bunch under a board and drive over 'em, or lay a couple on MAX tracks. Who knows? The possibilities for smashing are endless.
Good luck!