Welcome to what may be my most ambitious project yet! It's a huge commitment and a challenge I look forward to tackling.
Over a decade ago, I began embellishing the lids of the iconic lip balm - Carmex, and giving these out as gifts. A few years back, I even included the project concept into one of my books on polymer clay.
These gifts have always been well received, as most peopIe I have gifted with my Carmex artworks have used and loved the product for years. When empty, most people buy a new container and replace the unadorned lid with the decorated one. Others clean out the container and use it for pills, mints or gum. Around 5 years ago, I thought that it would be a great idea to create a collection of 100 of these tiny artworks, but never did find the time or energy to fully commit to this endeavor. Just recently I decided to make the commitment to this project. Having been inspired by Julie Powell's year long project to cook every recipe from Julia Child's cookbook: "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." I made the bold decision to take it a giant step further...a full year of making these tiny artworks. That's right, 365 366 (oh yeah, Leap year!) daily art projects - all on the teeny tiny canvas lids from Carmex lip balm containers!
Considering my travel and teaching schedule, this is going to be a huge challenge. With that in mind, I will prepare finished pieces in advance to post daily when I am on the road.
These lids will be created with a variety of materials and many will be mixed-media creations. Expect to see lots of polymer and metal clays as well as SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS, resin, wire, paint, paper, and more in these micro artworks. I will be showcasing dozens of techniques, playing with texture and dimension and even some kinetics. When possible, I will be embedding links to resources, websites and blogs that relate to the postings. Each post will typically be one or two photos (depending on detail of the sides) and one paragraph with a simple details that might include technique, materials, or my inspiration for creating the lid; perhaps all three.
My hope is that this project intrigues and inspires you. If you like it, please subscribe to the blog and see the jar of the day. Don't hesitate to share this site among your family, friends, and co-workers.
I fully expect that I will be working on the last few jar lids up to the very end of this year. If all goes well, I plan on keep things going well into 2013 and perhaps beyond with step-by-step tutorials of a dozen or more of the pieces selected from the 2012 postings and maybe even a traveling exhibition. How knows?
Beginning tomorrow, I'll begin by posting jar one. Wishing all of you a year filled with health, happiness, prosperity and creativity!
