To start out, you really don't need very many tools. Some tins, a piece of wood, a hammer, an awl, some tin snips, some wire nails and a can opener is about it. If you decide you like making tin art, you may want to get some other tools, such as some Bonsai shears (available at Stonelantern.com) or an electric metal shear or... To see my tutorial click on this link YouTube.
Next tutorial will cover different ways to finish the edges.
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How would you like to be making your own Tin Art Collages? Starting this month there is a new YouTube channel that will be covering the basics, such as...
Different types of tin, where to find it and how to deconstruct it.
Getting started with the best tools to use
Assembling your collage
And way more about finishing edges, adding 3D elements, and trouble shooting...
Start here
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In 2007 I did some experimenting and came up with a pattern for a bird. By combining cookie tins and soda cans I figured out how to make fun colorful birds that spin in a breeze.
Now that I have made and sold hundreds I'm ready to share my process. If you click here you can see how to make your own tin birds. The pattern and supply list is on my website JennyFillius.com then click on Tin Bird. Have fun and wear work gloves!
I came up with the design for tin birds in 2007, since then I have made and sold hundreds on Etsy and at craft fairs. Now you can too.
A pattern & supply list is available on my website at JennyFillius.com Click on Tin Bird to download a PDF. Soon a tutorial will be on YouTube for assembling them.
Supplies for making my tin birds
Okay, so I was at the Post Office the other day, standing in line, waiting. Trying to decide whether or not to gloat to the others behind me when it was my turn. That's right, I'm next, I'm the lucky one, it's my turn. The people seemed rather humorless so I decided against it. As I approached the counter I heard the sweet sound of baby birds chirping. It was louder than it would be from a nest in the ceiling so I asked the clerk if I was hearing birds, and you are not going to believe what she said to me, or maybe you will. She said, "Oh, yes, those are baby chicks that are being mailed." I said, "You can mail baby chicks?" She replied, "Sure, so long as they are packaged correctly and shipped overnight." I then handed over the package I was there to mail and asked, "What about snakes? Can you ship snakes?" She said "Sure, if they are packaged properly, that will be $7.80". Handing her a 10, I said, "What about lizards, can I mail lizards?" Without looking at me she said ,"Sure". Then I asked "How about elephants?", looking past me, she gave me my change and said "Next" .
My first day on the job...
Oh my god I saw so many dead people today. I handled them.They were so cold. One male body, late 20s early 30s, had blown his brains out. I saw old men with dried blue eyes wide open and their mouths agape like they were screaming. I had to move one on to a slab for embalming. I had to put I.D.s on the ankles of dead women, one reminded me of our daughter,Montana. One was too heavy for me to shove in the van. The stench of death and formaldehyde is stuck in my nostrils. One woman’s feet bent the wrong way because her bones had been removed from her legs as a donor making her jellyfish like and floppy. I saw one woman my age who had died clutching stuffed animals. She was still warm when we picked her up. She looked peaceful and I felt like I was taking care of her. I saw a body wrapped in plastic (actually called a plastic shroud, but it's more like a big plastic envelope) go into the retort (crematorium). I saw a 480 pound man in one of the coolers. 3 coolers have about 275 bodies and body parts total.There was a torso, a box of heads and shelves of babies. A body was being delivered and the tech had to unwrap the bag to check the tag on the ankle. She unwrapped it and another tech said let’s have a look, I asked why and his answer was “morbid curiosity”. She had been autopsied and sewn up in a crude fashion and the fat underneath her skin was bulging out like dull yellow marbles, there was blood all over the plastic. One woman had been in some kind of accident and was sprayed with blood. I learned so much in one day.Seeing the first body was jarring. Then the next 3 or 4 all looked alike to me. Then I felt numb. Like I was in disbelief of what I was seeing and just acting in a movie and that it wasn’t real.
The person who was training me seems very level headed. They don’t believe in ghosts yet related two separate instances where they have seen them.
The next day...
I quit this job at 6:30 AM.It's not for me after all.
Editors note: The best thing about this experience is how much I learned in one day. I also know that I can die with peace of mind about how my body will be treated. The people who would have been my coworkers were kind, friendly and good natured. They carry out (pun intended) their duties with the utmost respect and dignity for the decedent and the decedent's family.
Random things I learned...
Obese bodies are cremated when the retort is first turned on because if a retort is already very hot a grease fire can in sue.
Muslim decedents are covered with a white cotton sheet rather than the plastic shroud.
After a body is cremated the "ashes" are raked into a bin. The bin is then taken to a room that has a grinder. This turns anything that didn't completely disintegrate into power. If there was a titanium hip or knee the family is welcome to have it, otherwise it gets sent out to be recycled.
If a body has insect larva on it there is a symbol that gets drawn on the bag to let others know. No words for the larva are to be written on the bag out of respect.
I did not get called to "come on down" at The Price is Right. This is a souvenir photo, and yes I am butt hurt over it. But then I am someone who when I buy a lottery ticket I'm sure I have the winning numbers, check them twice even though the first number is wrong and then scratch my head in disbelief. So small wonder. I tried for two days. Had a ticket for the third day but was too tired.
Basically it's a lot of waiting. You wait to get checked in, then wait some more. Then you get "interviewed" by a man who makes the decision on whether you are good TV material or not. His name is Dan and he spends about 20 seconds or less with you. "Where are you from, what do you do for a living?" I watched him as he was interviewing the group ahead of us and saw him spend a lot more time with one older gentleman in particular, I knew that man would be chosen and he was. You are told that you are being watched while you are in line and in the audience and that you never know who will be called. So naturally I was doing my best to look happy and engaging with all the people around me. That's the most exhausting part. I waited next to a woman and her sons, who had flown out from Iowa. She was so boring and I'm smiling and asking her questions about her minivan as if I was interested. It was almost painful. When I would try and interject something about myself she would look straight forward and not respond. So I'm pretty sure she thought I was just as boring. Imagine?!
So after more waiting, they take your cellphone away and give you a ticket to pick it up after the taping (another long line to wait in after the fact). Smart watches are to be left in your car, so don't bring one. You go through metal detectors twice so forget putting it in your pocket. Then you are seated, and contemporary pop music is being blasted to get everyone hyped up. I was seated next to a toothless, long gray haired, bearded senior in a ball cap and puffy jacket. He looked like he might be homeless. He said it was his 8th time being in the audience.
The studio is much smaller than it looks on TV. Monitors are on the ceiling so you can see what's happening on stage. Mostly the view is blocked by 5 cameras. One woman gives you signals when to stand, when to clap, when to make more noise, when to help contestants with bidding and when to be quiet.
The best part of the taping is Drew Carey who pretty much riffs off the contestants during the commercial breaks. He is naturally funny. He asked one person what they did for a living (I couldn't see them). Then pretending to smoke a cigarette he says "So you're a buyer? Hey, we're all buyers. Welcome to America bitch". It was hilarious to see him being more himself than he is when the cameras are rolling. Drew and the announcer George Grey have some pretty good banter, mostly lost on the majority of the audience. George said he's getting married in May to a woman ( I thought he was gay) that had been in the audience during a taping. She happened to be at a bar he likes and they ended up drinking together and became friends and the rest is history.
The next day I wore my hair differently, changed my glasses and tried to get more banter going with Dan. When he asked me what I did I said I had just quit my job as a removal technician for an after care center. He was ready to move on and I said "Do you know what that is?" He was already so done with me but said "No". So I said "It's picking up dead bodies, and after 10 and half hours I had to quit". This did not help my chances one iota.
The members of the Northwest Designer Craftsmen are showing their work for the next 3 months at the Seattle Convention Center's Phyllis Lamphere Gallery on the second floor. Pictured above is my tin art, Fandango. Photo by Daniel Fox
The Northwest Designer Craftsmen are pleased to be exhibiting
The Contemporary Art of Pacific Northwest Crafts
at the WA State Convention Center
September 29 - January 6, 2019
705 Pike St, Seattle, WA 98101
7am to 10pm daily
Level 2 Main Galleria
Everyone is welcome