Catch and Release.....

 I've been trying to finish a 2 statement pieces for a month or more, and finally got this one done this past week.  I call it "Catch and Release"

I'm not exactly sure where my head was when I started.. but by the time I finished I had definite ideas of what it means to me.  That might be why it took so long to finish, I knew it had something to say (I had something to say?)  but I couldn't focus.  

 Let me explain the elements of this piece... the big patina back piece is a vintage clock gear.  The gold is a vintage drawer knob base.  At some point in it's life, something bad happened to it and it got smashed and bent and cracked in places and the knob disappeared.  It would have been round and hollow and concave and about 3/4 inches tall.  It's embossed with a lovely floral pattern.  So when I got it it's was kind of a misshapen lump.  I decided if it's already broken, why not go for broke? and used my hammer to flatten it completely out, making the cracks actual rips in the brass.  Even in it's abused form it has an elegance of beauty to it.  The last vintage part is the "release" which is from a LC smith typewriter from the 1920's.

To me, this is taking the negatives life throws you (and boy life's got a good pitchin' arm) and making it as positive as you can and letting the still bad parts go...

Now a online friend said that she thought I meant fishing... so yeah, releasing fishes is good too.