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Beer & Cheese Art Project


Guest Davka

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Guest Davka

OK, it all started when we were given an entire wheel of brie. Now, for a low-income wannabe-foodie like myself, a wheel of brie is not something you simply eat and forget about. It is something to be savored, treasured, and commemorated. So I carefully removed the glorious mandala-like circular label from the wheel and stuck it on the kitchen wall:

 

brie.jpg

 

Tacky, but effective.

 

When we bought this house, there was a circular piece of glass in the garage, left by the previous owners. I like to make stuff, and I've been pondering possible uses for this glass for lo! these many years. A picture frame was one possibility - and one day I looked at that circular brie label and thought about that circular glass, and the seeds on an idea were planted.

 

At this time I should mention that I've also collected a few beer boxes from particularly good or interesting beers, such as this Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome:

 

sammy.jpg

 

The circular glass is significantly larger than the brie label. And that label isn't really all that nice, it's just circular. So i thought, what if I were to make a collage, with the brie label at the center, of beer boxes and cheese labels? And frame the whole thing with a nice chunk of circular glass over the top?

 

Only one problem: how to make a perfectly circular picture frame? I don't have tools that precise. But this weekend my daughter decided to have a yard sale, and as I was helping cut cardboard for the signs, it occurred to me that I could make an imperfectly circular frame, using cardboard and paper-maché. I'm actually pretty good at paper-maché, if I do say so myself.

 

But plain old paper-maché is boring, even if it's nicely painted. This is where the stroke of genius comes in: I also have a small collection of beer bottles with interesting labels, but they're just gathering dust on a shelf and looking rather pathetically collegiate. Here are some of my dusty beer bottles:

 

bottles.jpg

 

(BTW, I strongly recommend He'Brew Messiah Bold for those who understand the pleasures of dark beer. And Harviestoun Old Engine Oil is what Arrogant Bastard Ale wants to be when it grows up - but I digress.)

 

As I was saying, this is where the true genius comes in - once I have made the paper-maché picture frame, I intend to cover it with a final layer of beer and cheese labels. Then I will put a few layers of polyurethane over the labels, and voila! The frame becomes part of the art.

 

So, in a typical burst of internet narcissism, I will document the progress of my creation here for your viewing pleasure. Here's the picture frame in its early stages:

 

frame.jpg

 

Soaking the label off of a beer bottle (yum! Chocolate Stout!) :

 

soak.jpg

 

The best part about this project is that I don't have enough labels (yet) to cover the picture frame. Which means I have a perfectly legitimate excuse to purchase imported and microbrew beer, along with gourmet cheese. "But honey, I needed to shell out 6 bucks for an Arrogant Bastard Ale, because I don't have that label in my collection yet!"

 

He he.

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I just love a creative man. But even more than that, I really, really love beer and cheese!!! :beer: I look forward to updates on your progress.

 

Now... what kind of project can I start that REQUIRES beer????

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Guest Davka

I realized that unless I overlap all the beer labels (thus making them hard to read and see), I need a background layer of color for the frame. So I mixed some wood glue with water, cut a lot of colorful strips from the glossy pages of magazines, and glued them to the frame:

 

color.jpg

 

I am now rewarding myself for a productive day's work with a Shiner bohemian black lager.

 

 

Now... what kind of project can I start that REQUIRES beer????

 

Well, I figure I'll need to drink a lot more beer if I want to have a good collection of quality labels, so pretty much anything that involves beer-label decoupage or collage would do the trick.

 

Alternately, you could find a friend who wants to collect the labels and just supply them like a Good Samaritan.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Guest Davka

OK, I've got the frame finished:

 

frame2.jpg

 

Note the all-important Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale (tempered over burning witches) at the bottom right. It's the only truly crappy beer in the collection, but I just couldn't pass up the label.

 

The collage is either finished or nearly finished:

 

collage.jpg

 

I'm not sure if I'm going to add anything more. I need to pick op some brackets from the hardware store to attach the glass, at which point I'll have a much better idea of how the finished product will look. I'll try to get a shot without the flash once I have it hanging on the wall.

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Davka, the frame turned out nice!

 

Alternately, you could find a friend who wants to collect the labels and just supply them like a Good Samaritan.

 

Sorry I couldn't contribute labels to help you out! I've been trying (somewhat unsuccessfully) to lose weight and beer is my number one enemy!!!

 

I can't wait to see the final product! :)

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Guest Davka

Davka, the frame turned out nice!

 

tyvm!

 

Sorry I couldn't contribute labels to help you out! I've been trying (somewhat unsuccessfully) to lose weight and beer is my number one enemy!!!

There is no link between beer consumption and weight gain. Unfortunately, there is a huge link between food consumption and weight gain. Myself, I've tried dialing back on munchies - especially those consumed in front of the TV - and it seems to be helping.

 

And I get to drink beer, guilt-free!

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Hey Davka, let me know if you want any more labels (real ales or camembert...). I can get you loads more from Harviestoun or other random British breweries... :68:

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