Lady Bug Circus

Tin Lantern Experiment for tin art

 

I've been thinking about little tin lanterns and how I could make some. First two didn't turn out as I'd hoped. The third one is closer to being okay. Trial and error, hours thinking about it and half a day trying to make something that is close. Tomorrow is another day.

Good Photography is important for Tin artwork

Look at these two photographs. Which one do you prefer?

The first one feels a bit washed out and the detail isn't clear. It cost me $250 for this image. The photographer for this image shoots commercial work, like small appliances.

 

The second photo is warm and the details are clear. It cost me $85. 

Photographing tin needs to be done by an experienced photographer because of all the shiny places (hot spots).The second photo was taken by a guy who takes pictures of glass on a regular basis. The photographer goes into their computer and "cooks" the photo by blowing it up and adjusting the image pixel by pixel. Talk about time consuming work! 

There are many reasons to have professional photographs of your tin work. Keeping a record of your work is important, having great photos for entering art calls, and having high res photos in case you may want to have a book made at some point. Unfortunately getting a small $300 tin piece photographed doesn't make sense. So I must try to photograph it myself which isn't so good.

 

 

 

Tin Art

Run Home  (8”x 5”) Lithographed tin and vintage tin toys. 

He’s got his lover on his mind and just wants to get home to her.

Accidents Spoil Fun (11”x 8” x 1.5”) Lithographed tin, tin toy gun, cookie cutter   and vintage bicycle reflector.

I think this would be a good gift for a senior high school graduate.

When my father was in the service he referred to his riffle as his gun. Huge mistake. He was punished by having to walk in a circle saying “this is my riffle, this is my gun, with this I shoot bullets, with this I shoot cum” all the while raising his riffle over his head while his other hand was holding his junk. Imagine! Or don’t. It was the first time I had heard that euphemism.

To see more tin art go to 

https://jennyfillius.com

 

Love You to Pieces Tin Art

Love You to Pieces  12” x 9”   Lithographed tin on plywood 

Very often you can end up with a bit of tin that’s too good to toss out. So putting them all together in a piece of tin artwork just makes sense. 

I’m so happy with the way this turned out that I want to make a huge one.

Gun Culture tin artwork

Gun Culture, 27" x 22" Lithographed tin on wood.

Have you ever thought about all the words having to do with a gun we use in every day language? Look at this on a large screen and read what is written to get an idea.

 

Don't Be a Duck tin art

Don't be a Duck or a dick for that matter. 

Lots of cool tin was used to make this piece. A vintage tin toy whistle, or at least I think that's what the duck was originally made as, tin doll house flooring, a toffee tin , an East Indian metal food packaging thing , part of a Japanese cigar box and  lots of other tins for the letters.

One of a kind original tin artwork. See it on Instagram or at Jennyfillius.com

Farmer John & his big Cock , Tin Art

 

 

Even though I'm a senior citizen I sometimes have the same sense of humor as a 12 year old boy.    I occasionally can't help myself from making a tin artwork that can be construed as a bit naughty. Nothing subtle about this one that's for sure. 

A few years ago I made a piece using the tin toy rooster and the text on it read " Everyone appreciates a big cock".  I put it in a one day art show at a retirement community. It got a lot of giggles from the residents and much to my surprised two of them wanted to buy it. I didn't feel I could sell it to them because it was on the postcard for a solo show I was doing a few days later and everything had to be for sale. I did suggest to them that they come to the show. It did sell pretty quickly but not to either of the residents. 

 

Best Friends, recent Tin Art

Sometimes a tin toy is just too nice to put a nail hole in. Or maybe a wind-up toy still works, it'd be a shame to take it apart. In these instances I use magnets to attach them to the substructure. Earth magnets are super strong and if I use enough of them everything stays in place.  

RYOR ( Run your own Race) Tin Art

Run Your Own Race RYOR 4” x 4” Repurposed tin and vintage toy part. 2023

There's all sorts of advice online and in books about getting your art into a gallery. The idea of making art and taking it to a gallery for the owner to sell, sounds dreamy. The third person endorsement is a great selling "tool". Imagine having someone, other than your mother, sing your praises and have the credentials to back them up. Also with representation the whole money thing gets taken care of and the sales tax and shipping if necessary is all handled by the gallery. They do earn their percentage! Not to mention insurance, rent, utilities, employees, advertising and working with artists. It’s not easy street! 

Once you sign on with a gallery you might get a solo show every two years and be part of a group show once a year, depending on the terms of your contract. There will probably be restrictions about selling any work within so many miles of the gallery or on your own. You also don’t know if your stored work is being shown to collectors. I had work in a gallery and dropped in one day to find my paintings wrapped up in paper and tied with a string. They may have as well said “ Don’t let the door hit you on the way out”(One of the paintings was later purchased by the comedian Caroline Rhea and she used it  in one of her TV specials). Another obstacle that is a huge problem, for me, is they want consistency in what you create. Oh for the love of god! That’s why some artists turn out the same work over and over. This is my definition of hell. It’s never been explained to me but I think it’s because the gallery owner knows what will sell. Or perhaps it’s a recognition thing, that when you see a painting of a purple elephant, that it was painted by Millicent Ticklefeather and that has significance, status or some associated measure of good taste. I’m not sure.

So for me, I am running my own race as I make my tin art. I make what moves me as I choose. I sell online. I handle the money, the shipping, and the advertising. I have overhead to cover by renting a studio, insurance, utilities, and parking. It’s a lot of work to create fresh original one of a kind artworks but it’s also a lot of fun and freedom!