"Major"?

Okay folks... here it is! ...the piece to which I was referring when I said I was working on a "major" piece. My good friend Tom Nettle asked me a couple weeks ago, "So why are you referring to the piece you're working on as a 'major' piece"? Great question Tom! I'm not sure I have as great of an answer, but I'll attempt to explain. The initial inspiration for the piece actually came from the frame and glass. A lot of my "specimens" are collected in a place called Farmersville, PA in Amish country outside of Lancaster. Yes, that's the real name of the place. Anyway, I have gotten some great old medical and health books as well as vintage electronic manuals and maps and other ephemera at the weekly Farmersville auction. It's not uncommon for me to procure a box of these books for $2 or $3. I love it! It's really fun to see the Amish buggies parked outside of the place and see the integration of farmers and dealers and just plain ole folks like me (?) bidding on the mundane and the bizarre. I'm looking forward to going during my spring break. So this beautiful vintage frame with curved glass comes up for auction. Turns out, I got it for a mere $25. I was very excited, especially given that framing and glass is so expensive. I wanted to do the frame and glass justice by creating a special collage. Hmmm, maybe "special" is a better descriptor than "major". I know I wanted to do something with weird medical/anatomical components in the spirit of the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia. I was also excited to have the ability to make the piece more three-dimensional because of the curved glass. Well, this post is getting too long, so I guess what makes this piece "major" for me is the fact that I considered the framing to be so special, that I wanted to make sure the piece was special to match. I suppose I'll let you be the judge... but I really think the two do support each other quite well. Enjoy! Perhaps I will write more about the auction in a later post. I will be finishing another piece tonight that includes a significant contribution by my sister-in-law Sharon, who has a BFA in paper-making. Some interesting discussion about collaborative artwork to accompany that piece. Again... Enjoy!