Altered Tin Can Dolls

This month’s theme on MAMMA’s MAD (monthly art doll) group over on Flickr is an altered can doll - that is to say, take one tin (of say soft drink, or lager), squash it and then make it into a doll - and that’s all there is to it! Yeah right!

This was very different from the previous doll swaps - which have been paper dolls or button fairies - nice and pretty ones. We were forced therefore to ‘think outside the box’ - something which is a real challenge for me! However, as I’ve said before I always like a challenge so had a go!

Tempted as I was to pick up squashed tins from the street - I resisted and instead got my hubby to drive over a couple of clean, washed tins for me.

The first one I did was ‘Olga - the Russian Tin Can Doll’ which I based on the Russian dolls (the ones which stack inside of each other) because of the roundish shape. I just painted over the tin with acrylics, added some detailing with pens and sealed it. The only thing that resembles a Russian doll though is her face! I like the way the creases in the tin look a bit look folds of fabric on her red top.

The second one I did was a bit different, well quite a bit different really. He is called ’Max the Groovy Mover’. Max because he is a squashed Pepsi Max tin and groovy mover because his arms and legs (which are metal fish hook thingies) are connected to his body by jump rings so when picked up he moves around and jangles! I’ve left some of the tin un-touched, but the rest is coloured with alcohol inks. His face is a metal bottle top and his hair cut from a CD. Where I cut the tin into a shape it left very sharp edges so I covered them with some red braid which I then painted over with silver acrylic. This has bulked him out quite a bit, but was necessary. (His face looks a little cloudy in the photo because I took it before the Glossy Accents had dried)

He’s looking for love and is holding a little diamante heart - maybe he’ll find a nice girly tin at the disco (disco - are they still called that? - showing my age I think!)

Thanks Margaret, for another great challenge/swap - wonder what next month’s will be!