Melted Crayons and Moolah

Today I'm inclined to comment on something I heard yesterday. As fill for a transitional segment of a television program, a song was played called "I Need A Dollar", by artist Aloe Blacc. Here's a link to the video: Aloe Blacc - I Need A Dollar

First of all, born of a violinist and trained vocalist - and married to a man who studied jazz - you'll quickly learn that I'm a sucker for just about every type of music there is. I love the mixture of old gospel, and the 60's style funky horn section of this particular song.  Add that great piano accompaniment with his mellow voice, and I am smitten. And this won't be the last time I share a musical 'discovery' or 'like' with you. Just warning you now.

Secondly, and more importantly, I'm struck by the story of the song. And here's where I'll dedicate part of my post to getting a little more personal. Why? Because the reality is the simple acknowledgement that our family is low on the economic food chain.  We're not 'poor' by any means. Truer to form, we are like many other 'middle class' couples who make enough to not need state or federal government support, but make too little to not live paycheck to paycheck. Sadly, the only debt we have is in the form of student loans, which sit on our backs like a 300 lb weight. Not an impossible burden, but one that is a burden nonetheless and that is exhausting mentally, physically and spiritually at times.

Things constantly get axed for lack of funds. We are always trying to find ways to cut corners without compromising serious things (like food and shelter) and without sacrificing the need for enjoying simple pleasures in life now and again. But being thrifty nowadays seems to be the challenge du jour and a difficult task at best. It takes hard work. It can be tantamount to a full-time job. And not a lot of people have the stamina to hold down two full-time jobs, if you catch my meaning.

My hubby and I were both subject to lay-offs, just six weeks apart from each other, back in 2008. For almost a year we were carried through by public assistance as we desperately looked for work that would compensate us enough to merit having a job in the first place (nothing like getting paid so little, you end up essentially working for free because all you earn goes toward gas and child care). And as college grads, it was a humbling experience for us to be told by employers in our field that we didn't have enough experience (they wanted people who'd been practicing their craft since the Jurassic), or or told by employers of local retail places that we were over-qualified. It was sometimes terrifying to exist in that kind of limbo. And yet I imagine there are so many more families like ours. Worse yet, I think that there are way more people in this kind of situation than the leaders realize (or care to acknowledge).  And it is this life experience, this scratching for existence, that this song has brought to mind. And, really, it is this life experience that inspires me to do what I do and share what I share.

Most of us are just eeking by, trying to remain as respectable, healthy and house-proud as possible while we do it. For most of us, it is a daunting seemingly insurmountable task. Particularly in our society of instant access, instant information, instant communication, instant food and instant gratification. To keep things cheap, you can't always be 'instant'. On the other hand, I find that in trying to stay frugal and thrifty, my creative side has blossomed and my level of self-discipline (a dying art) has increased. Hopefully, if you're in the same boat I am, you can join me for the journey and have some things rub off that make things a little more bearable.

Now, on to the creative side of things. I know, yesterday I went on and on about Sharpie art. Logic would dictate that I'd be posting my progress of what I'd accomplished. Well, to be honest, not much. I did take the time to figure out how I would like the colored tiles to be laid out when they are mounted on the wall!  Here's the picture:

Prospective paint chip layout for Sharpie ink craft.

The artwork that inspired the color palette.

As my scattered brain would have it, though, I came across my eldest's Tupperware tub full of broken, partly melted, half obliterated crayons and remembered the intriguing crayon melting crafts I'd found on my Pinterest boards. I grabbed a few pieces of scrap plywood from the garage and got to work. 

Jacked up crayons, a heat gun, a pair of pliers and a small piece of scrap plywood (about 5" x 7")

I was really pleased, actually, with my first attempt. Holding my heat gun close to the respective crayon I held clamped in the grip of a pair of pliers, I moved the melting nub of colorful wax over the surface of the plywood, laying and blending colors as I moved along.  I decided the result looked like some sort of space formation from the far reaches of the universe, so I named it 'supernova'. I do concede to my daughter's opinion, just the same, that it looks like some sort of flower.

My finished first attempt: a background of brown, red-violet and dark purple; a foreground of yellows, oranges and a touch of pink.

Emboldened by my first attempt, I went with two bigger pieces of wood, thinking I could lay a marbleized looking background of wax and then finish off by laying thick cut out shapes on top as a kind of multimedia collage piece. 

Second attempt: shades of periwinkles, greys, lavenders and white, with accent colors of turquoise, aqua, blue and silver.

Yeah, not so successful.  For these two boards, concerned I wouldn't have enough crayon to go around, instead of holding the crayons with pliers I used a special garnish tool (that I NEVER use) to shave off pieces across both boards.  

Crayon shavings and chunks before the meltdown.

The bigger chunks of crayon were really hard to melt down and, if focused on them for too long, their color seeped and spread so much they engulfed and/or covered over the other surrounding colors. I don't hate the result, I'm just not nuts about it. And maybe it's because it didn't turn out the way I'd imagined it should.  My husband and daughter loved it for its texture and all the crazy blending and dripping action going on. Jackson Pollock, eat your heart out.

 I'll let you decide what you think. Meanwhile, I need to figure out where I'm gonna hang these bad boys...

 

The two boards, after meltdown.

Board 1, detail.

Board 2, detail.