WAXING NOSTALGIC

(Click for a closeup view.)

Lately I've been scanning old album covers as the basis for new encaustic pieces. Because the covers are wider than my scanner, it takes two passes, then I paste them together in Photoshop. You might want to use this technique using your own favorite albums...of course you could scan CD covers, but I like the worn quality of old albums.

"Performance" is one of my all-time favorite films. Directed by Donald Cammell and Nicholas Roeg and starring Mick Jagger and James Fox, it has a kick-ass sound track featuring not only Mick but Ry Cooder, Randy Newman, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Merry Clayton. The film explores themes espoused by poet Jorge Luis Borges about the nature of identity, duality, and time, and references to Borges are strewn throughout the movie.

This album jacket has great photos of Mick, front and back, in the two personas he displays in the film.  I used pages from a Borges anthology as collage materials to reinforce the connection. 

The term "wax" also applies to record albums.  This is because early phonograph cylinders were made of wax, eventually replaced by vinyl. You still hear records referred to as wax, although less and less frequently.

Altered covers make great wall art for you and yours, but I don't suggest selling them...the original images are undoubtedly copyrighted. This is just about making art for art's sake.  Waxing on wax, so to speak.

You can order my Photo Encaustic Kit here...it's an easy way to get started.