ABOUT MOIRA SWEENEY’S ART

An origin story …

“My foray into the art of junk began twenty years ago on a walk with my dogs and a friend.

“We happened upon a broken pile of mirror shards and tattered lengths of yellow CAUTION tape. Always prepared, I had medical gloves, extra bags and an “EW GROSS” scooping tool in my backpack. My friend stayed safely with the dogs on the grass while I cautiously scraped the mirror shards and CAUTION tape remnants into a (triple-bagged) bag.

“At home I dumped the shards and tape into a bucket of boiling water and soap to scrub them clean. (added “EW GROSS” tongs and leather gloves to my arsenal of tools for future walkabouts)

“Conveniently, I’d recently gotten a new laptop, so I pulled the pristine white box out of the recycling bin: voila! a sturdy frame! Next I :

• • • randomly glued the mirror shards inside the laptop box
    • created slits asymmetrically along all four sides with an X-acto knife
    • threaded the CAUTION tape throughout

“Genius. My friend offered to buy it. I gave it to her, laughing, and packed sturdier bags with heftier gloves for future junk art walks.”

~~ Moira Grace Sweeney