Sidewalk Face 868

This wet stain was calling to me from the driveway of a single unit home. My neighborhood has both four-plex apartments and individual houses. It’s easier to make faces in the yards and driveways of apartments, as it seems less like trespassing. People are always going in and out and nobody really cares. But it’s more awkward on personal property obviously. I saw the stain and felt really compelled by it. I was going to just go for it when I sensed a woman crossing the street. I turned in her direction and saw she was headed for the front door, so I moseyed along very slowly trying to ascertain how quickly she would get inside and hoping I could start back up. Boy did it take her a long time to enter that home. What the heck!? I walked about two houses away, collecting the nose and mouth. I already had the eyes. As soon as the front door closed I turned around. But wait! Out the front door came an ancient white man with a walker and an Asian companion with a very long white braid. What to do! I called out a friendly hello and the ancient man reciprocated with warmth. We talked briefly and I was about to just pass by and give it up when I looked hard at the stain again. Ohhh, I really wanted to work with it. So I say, “Would it be okay with you if I quickly make a face out of this puddle in your driveway?” I start before they answer. I had to create the face while narrating what I was doing and why. They both seemed curious and the man with the braid ambled over to see it from my perspective. At the far end of the driveway three people emerged, the women from before and two others. They had no idea what I was doing so I made my speech more animated so they would know I was talking to the old men and hopefully not come over. I’ve never made a face this quickly. I like making the faces quickly. It guarantees certain weirdness, no time to smooth it away. I had no idea what I had captured as I don’t normally chit chat while photographing but I quite like him. I am sure that if I had had more time he would be different and I am glad he is not.

Sidewalk Face 814

On the hunt for unusual rejects, I am always scanning for what has been left behind since I last walked the dogs. Well, I've noticed a lot of stuff but never a perfectly fresh and delicious donut. What in the world contributed to this travesty?! I saw a power utility guy here yesterday but this doesn’t look like yesterday’s donut. I kind of felt bad making the face in case the owner came back. But who leaves a donut outside? And what’s weirder still is that he left it on a wire roll that looks amazingly like a cake plate. It’s all so uncanny.

Sidewalk Face 814 Wide

On the hunt for unusual rejects, I am always scanning for what has been left behind since I last walked the dogs. Well, I've noticed a lot of stuff but never a perfectly fresh and delicious donut. What in the world contributed to this travesty?! I saw a power utility guy here yesterday but this doesn’t look like yesterday’s donut. I kind of felt bad making the face in case the owner came back. But who leaves a donut outside? And what’s weirder still is that he left it on a wire roll that looks amazingly like a cake plate. It’s all so uncanny.

Sidewalk Face 836

My mom and I were walking the dogs when I stopped to make something with this stain. I had a pretty strong vision and was not inviting collaboration but she apparently also also had a vision and insisted I make this guy a smoker. She formed a cigarette out of tissue and would not leave it alone. Well, in reviewing the photos I took, hers was the clear winner. Good job mom! Must always stay open to the unexpected!

Sidewalk Face 867

I found a half smoked cigar in the gutter and got pretty excited. Carried it around for days. Man do those thing stink. Even when wrapped in plastic it’s a powerful penetrating smell. I was starting to feel a bit crazy. Why was I doing this? I couldn’t find or make the right face for this large 3 dimensional object. It didn’t want to just sit on the sidewalk. Plus, if the context isn’t right, it’s suggestive of other things. Then it hit me, Sidewalk Face 756 from June. He’s one of the few I’ve made that is still around. When I first met him he was a bit too young but now that’s he’s been around the block a time or two, I knew he would love to lay his puckered lips on an old stogie. Here’s to you my friend. Arriverderci in 2019!

Sidewalk Face 756

Sidewalk Face 897

Oh no! He’s doing it right out in the open. Of course he’s been kicked to the curb and hasn’t bathed in years. Poor guy. Full Story. I saw him and immediately wanted to draw eyes. I had a piece of white chalk I’d just found so that was easy. But he had a lot of yucky trash on his seat. I started to clear it off to make a nicer photo and two things happened, a glass pipe fell out of a grubby satchel and rolled under the chair. Ack! And the hypodermic needle that you see him looking down at in the picture was revealed. After that I didn’t touch a thing.

Sidewalk Face 757

I’ve been debating with my husband about sharing the back-story on this one (he’s for it, I’m uncertain) because while funny, it’s disgusting. I saw it and immediately thought classic three of swords tarot card. I didn’t have anything on me that could represent blades so I went hunting and found some pointy wood chips across the street. I was laying it all out when I heard what I dread most, a door opening and closing, footsteps descending stairs. As I was definitely trespassing and can’t ignore her, I call out “Hi!” Just taking a picture of this shape”. She walks over in a hurry, clearly going to work, looks down and says, “Is that vomit?” We look briefly at each other. “I need you to move because I have to back out.” I take photos as fast as I can. No time for adjustments. Her SUV squishes the eyeballs and knocks everything out of place. No more pictures. Look dear viewer, I noticed the heart like shape and neglected to assess the medium of the stain. In my defense it was rather dry! I was a bit dismayed at this new information and hope it doesn’t ruin the picture for you. But does it not lend a certain poetry as the three of swords is about grief, loss and heartbreak

Sidewalk Face 866

This is the “Sleep Charmer” from the De Luxe Bedding Co. It was $139.50 at time of purchase. Now twin mattresses go for $500 and up. Despite it’s age, this is the nicest mattress fabric I’ve ever seen. True to its name, it really is very charming. I saw the face right away and it only took 3 items to bring him to life; a super tiny leaf already on the mattress and two iris seeds from nearby. As I’ve said before, my favorite faces need very little assistance from me. I googled the company name and product to try and figure out when this was purchased but I couldn’t stand to wade through the excess of mattress ads. Nothing is more mind numbing. But I do wonder about the backstory here. Until this guy was kicked to the curb, had he only ever resided in one residence or had he moved around? Did some generous parent gift the old guy to their young offspring when they moved to the big city, or was he monogamous to single sleeper his whole life? Were the owners moving, upgrading or did something happen? We will never know but this is the stuff I wonder about as I wander along my neighborhood streets. Partial stories abound, imagination fills in the missing pieces.