My Can Supply

My current aluminum can supply is far exceeding my pace of converting cans to photographic images.  I find cans along the roads and paths during lunch walks. I am looking for 24 ounce or larger cans that have not been dented.  My suppliers are mostly the homeless that live along the railroad tracks or under the bridges in Renton.  I have learned where the drinking spots are and return often to replenish my supply.

Me Picking Cans with my Artist Stick (2012)

This summer I have picked up about 30 cans each week. That is well over 1,000 per year.
 In a productive week I convert about 15 to photographs.  More typically, it is 5 to 10 so my supply is growing.  This is a good thing because the cans are harder to find in the winter and I have more time to make them into art.

My Current Uncut Can Supply

Here is one of my latest!

Can Art, "Commotion"

Why Cans?

Over the last 2 years, my photography efforts have centered around printing on "Upcycled" Aluminum Cans. Originally, I printed on the inside of cans because I thought it would be a cost effective way to "test" an image printed on metal before sending it to an expensive lab. But something else happened. People became interested in the cans. So for the last 2 years, I have pursued ways to make the process more efficient, not ruin my printer, and to display the cans.

I have spent countless hours refining my process so the final product is faster to produce and more reliable. It now takes about 30 minutes of work and 2 days of time to convert a can to a printable surface and my failure rate has dropped from over 50% to about 20%.

Displaying cans is a challenge. They want to go back to a can state.  I have found that their desire to curl is stronger than tape. The best way to keep them flat is to tack them down. At first, I spray painted plywood background but was told that looked cheap. Then I started covering the plywood with other materials such as screen or aluminum flashing. Then I hand painted these surfaces with acrylics and tacked the cans down.

Copy of G.K.'s Pool

The photograph is a shadow in a pool.  I hand painted the background on a screen.  Then framed the piece with a hand-colored frame.

First Post

My interest in photography goes back over 40 years. I took a black and white course in high school and continued to develop, literally, this know-how through college and beyond until access to a dark room became too difficult. Said another way, my other life activities took over. Not having a dark room in my house made photography not happen.

 

Fortunately the advent of the digital camera and its increased capability have made photography a viable pursuit. I can now create images in my home and use color. Both wonderful advances of technology.

I photograph what is happening around me particularly when I am in a beautiful place like Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. I look for unique architectural features, shapes, lines and the colors. Of my, so many incredible colors.

 

1979 Photo of me Hailey, ID while a student at the Sun Valley Arts Center

2013 Photo of me in Granby, CT