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Tattoo Shadow Box Poetry Literary Beeswax Collage Grunge
     

Title: Tattoo Man
Original, one of a kind Beeswax Collage Shadowbox by Ren Adams
Size: 8 1/4" x 3 1/2" x 1/2"
Date: 4/21/07

This is a recycle art original Beeswax Collage done on a "found" canvas. My grandmother-in-law is in her late nineties and her family has been helping her remove years of collected items from her home. The "canvas" I used for this textured collage is an old jewelry gift box lid (was probably used for a watch or necklace), with textured gold foil on the outside. I couldn't see something which had once been so noble and elegant tossed into the landfill (I can't bear to toss anything in the landfill, really).

So--within the elegant old box lid, I created a collage. It celebrates the grungy beauty of tattoo art. I mixed snippets of tattoo subjects, some of mLee's beautiful woodblock print paper, and an original poem.


The poem:

Tattoo Man Working on my Left Shoulder

He learned at thirteen,
he and his girlfriend
in barefoot summer
retreated to his room,
poking Mom's sharpened
sewing needle into the tip
of a ballpoint pen,
then inserting gentle black dots
into the skin of his shin.

An ankh formed, stayed.
Sweat pooled in that hollow space
behind the knee
where hair never grows.
He said, two days later
the ankh became a lightning bolt.
Then a gecko, then a tree.



The beeswax gives this piece a fresh, honey-like scent. I have also sealed the interior with nontoxic, permanent, acid-free matte varnish. If you run your fingers over the art (and you're encouraged to!), you'll feel interesting layers, chunks, glossy smoothness, and other unique sensations.

Box will be carefully packed and shipped to ensure safety. You can stand it up on its side on your desk, countertop, or shelf, or you can mount it with any kind of poster-grabbing substance (like Gonicoll glue, poster clays and rubbers, etc.) and mount it on the wall.

Signed and dated on the back by the artist (me!).


     
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