No. Not 'Burka'. But nice thought.

It's Street Team Time!!

I love this time, don't you? Michelle Ward has single-handedly established a fabulous forum for artists to share their works and, also, to win big prizes, like cars and villas in Tuscany. More importantly, by working on her crusades, we artists and crafters can network with one another, share ideas, and feed our creativity by working within the themes she gives us each month. Jump over there and see some of the cool stuff people have been creating. And I'm here to throw some of my pottery onto the wheel.

Oh, sure. It's the last possible moment in time for submitting this month's work, but I came through, that's the important thing.

Okay, sure. I didn't actually go so far as to complete a project for the crusade. But I thought a lot about it, that's the important thing.

And, sure. Some people worked hard, finished their projects, and turned them in some time before the last hour of the last day of the crusade. But it's the intention that counts, right?

Boy.

You people are tough.

All wit and excellent dance styling aside, I am really sad that I didn't have time to submit the work I'd intended for this crusade, because it's a great theme! And in addition to all the muses on my list from early this month, one of the people who inspire me is Jacek Yerka. I tell you, I'm all up in that guy right now.

Now, I realize he's all over the place, and his stock is stratospheric, and if you see one more Jacek Yerka teeshirt, you think you might just soil yourself. But even though his work is ubiquitous, I think you'll agree that he's no hack. His work is inspirational to me. The vibrancy of color and the intricacy of detail lend his surrealist works a haunting, almost poignant quality. Take a gander at this picture. In fact, go ahead and take a goose at it:


















Oh. There's more where that came from, my friend.

Finding myself in the throes of Yerka-mania, I did aspire to create something that might even begin to evoke the awe and mystery his paintings do. And, being a lover of mosaics, I thought it would be cool to create a paper mosaic inspired by Yerka. So I decided to make a covering for a box, using paper mosaic panels. I've since copyrighted the idea, so don't try it at home.

But, alas, my dream did not reach fruition. To attest to my attempt to create this box, while at the same time, not knowing how to actually do it, I'm providing a photo. I took a few of his works and made paper mosaics out of them and mounted them on heavy card stock. And I was going to decorate a plain box with them. But after I made them, I realized the dimensions were all wrong. So then, I decided to make a wall hanging out of them. But by that time, I was too exhausted by disillusionment and the eating of banana moon pies, to paint a background for the hanging. I mean, it's hard work taking other people's paintings and cutting them into little pieces.

So, here's the work-in-progress, mounted on a piece of scrapbook paper, to fashion the concept of a wall hanging:



Incredibly life-like, you say?

Thank you.


Next: Chris completes her first 100 inchies, and then visits a hamstring injury specialist.