Like many children, Melissa Emerson used to be scolded for playing with her food – especially for her recreation of the classic mashed potatoes “volcano” that overflowed with molten gravy.
But someone forgot to tell her not to play with her silverware.
Emerson, originally from North Dakota, has been making what she calls “utensil figures” for more than five years, some of which are now on display at the WOW Hall Art Gallery.
The figures, which take on the persona of animals and humans, are made from wire,
silverware and adhesive. The recycled materials come from family members, thrift stores and the BRING Recycling Center.
“They’re made from things that usually people throw out when it comes to electronics, Emerson said.
It takes her a couple of hours to make one figure, although she said the time varies depending on how elaborate the figure is. She uses techniques such as bending silverware with pliers – so much so that many think she melts the silverware with fire – and twisting wire to represent different features. For example, she bends wire around rocks to represent a woman’s breasts.
She discovered the art of silverware from friends at school.
“Some dorm room buddies that I hung out with took some silverware and melted them together. That’s how I found out that silverware could be used as a medium,” she said last week in a 5th Street District cafe in Eugene.
Emerson’s creations are inspired by animals and people. Her cat’s eating routine inspired her to make her first utensil figure in her hometown of Bismarck, N.D., five years ago.
“My cat was eating his food one day, and he scoops his food out like a spoon. I was like, ‘Wow that’s weird.’” Somehow this led her to create a figure using bent, curly forks to represent hair and spoons to represent limbs.
Emerson moved to Eugene six months later because she “felt like an outsider in North Dakota.” Her biggest shock wasn’t the rainy, warmer winter weather, but the large amount of people with tattoos and the outdoor activity offerings such as running on the street.
“I couldn’t believe how many people run here,” she said.
Eugeneans couldn’t escape being seen as walking forks and spoons through the eyes of Emerson. The runners and those draped in tattoos inspired her to go all out with the figures.
“I just made a whole bunch of them,” she said on her arrival to Eugene.
Emerson explained that she observes how people – friends or random people on the street – behave and dress, and then she imitates both in the figures.
“(My inspiration is) walking around and seeing elaborate clothes. I steal the person’s identity and make it into a utensil figure,” she said.
Emerson, who also has had work displayed at the Pizza Research Institute, Jawbreaker and the Museum of Unfine Art, said she enjoys seeing her art on display at such nontraditional venues found in Eugene.
“I like the little coffee shops or music venues that just have art hanging there,” she said.
The utensil figures on display at the WOW Hall let bands and concert goers see her work. She hooked up with the music venue through a friend who worked there.
“They really give back to the community,” she said of the WOW Hall.
There isn’t a direct message she’s trying convey through her figures.
“I just want people to enjoy them and take their own ideas from them. I just like to share it,” she said.
She realizes that not everyone appreciates or understands her work.
“A lot of people smile and laugh. Some people say, ‘What is that?’ It’s not their thing – it can’t be everyone’s thing. I have to laugh it off,” she said.
However, it must be someone’s thing, as she sold hundreds of figures at the Holiday and Saturday Markets this year.
“It gives me joy knowing that they’re in someone’s house or kitchen. I’m waiting for the day I walk into someone’s house and it’s just hanging there,” she said.
The all-around artist takes her work to heart.
“I’ve got love for some of my utensil figures. Sometimes I’m sad that they go because I know it’s the last time I’ll see them again,” Emerson said. She even takes a photo of every figure to remember each one.
In the future, Emerson plans to weld the figures together and make them more intricate. Those interested can check out the display in Eugene at the WOW Hall Art Gallery at the corner of Eighth Avenue and Lincoln Street from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, or can place an order for a custom utensil figure at [email protected] for $10.
“I figured I could give to the community by giving them an original piece of art work for a cheap amount. Affordability equals accessibility,” she said.
Contact the pulse reporter at [email protected]
Inventing after-dinner art
Daily Emerald
January 11, 2006
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