Old Junk is Good Junk

I love discarded, rusted old junk. I love it more than anything you could buy at Target. It has an element of "cool" that I don't think you can find in new items. Don't get me wrong, not every bit of trash fits the "criteria" for saving and although I come close, I'm not a hoarder (yet)! Mostly, I love items with a patina. A worn, aged look that makes me wonder how it got there... especially items that would have been touched by hands in another century: old rusted keys, parts of door knobs, rusted ornamental backplates, knockers... You get the idea.

Sometimes I buy things like old wheels from a red flyer wagon, or old yardsticks, with no plan in mind, but I love these items so much that I set them around my house. I create little "vignettes" - I guess it's "my thing". For a while I collected wheels. I suppose my family just accepted it. I hung them on the walls because honestly, they looked so cool. Those old wheels from baby carriages, kids' toys, bikes etc. - I love them all. There was even a wheel that my brother and I dug up back when we used to dig for old bottles behind our house on Stone Ridge Road in the late 70's. Yup! I moved that old wheel from house to house with me.

Well, anyway, once in awhile I stop creating vignettes and throw it all together into something NEW - or reimagined - like this outdoor sculpture I started with some of my students last Spring. I'm not sure if my dragonfly is finished, but she was born of ceiling fans, license plates, an old key, jewelry, and a few other items. I needed to finish her up so snuck some time in this week. Not sure if she's done? But, I'm moving on! I hope to "create" for the rest of my time on earth, so hopefully I never run out of junk!

Never overlook an old rusty item!