Pennies

So, for those of you who don’t know, I cut pennies. There’s no hidden meaning there or anything, it’s just my hobby. I use magic to separate various copper particles from a penny, and in the process make them look like… well… I haven’t really decided what they look like. The point is that I started doing it this summer and I’m getting better at it. Over the course of this ‘project,’ I’ve undergone a few of what I like to call paradigm shifts. I mean that I discover something that revolutionizes the art form in some way. The first paradigm shift was that the copper curls in different degrees depending on how much you were cutting, and the most recent is that I can attach them to one another. Actually, I can attach them in two ways (this is exciting). But the reason I mention this is because of the class that this entry is for. Digital Art and Design (Art 213). On the surface, this class looks like it’s about Photoshop, but in reality it’s about looking at things in a different way and saying, “well, what if it was this way?” Or, “is this really the truth?” So this alternative art form that is becoming a passion of mine (and the cause of carpal tunnel syndrome), seems like the perfect way to open the blog assignment for this class (almost two weeks late, but hey, I’m very particular about what I put on the internet for the world to see)

Everyone sees pennies every day, and most people are willing to discard them without a second thought. But there’s something hidden underneath the surface of the penny that makes them incredibly cool. I only cut pennies made from 1982 or earlier because that’s the last year they were made completely out of copper. The oldest penny I’ve split is from 1959. That’s older than probably half of my friends’ parents. I digress; the outside is a little faded and worn, but when you open them up, that is, cut them, the shine like they just came from the mint. This formation of the copper is older than I am, but with a simple movement of my hand, I expose something that’s been locked away for almost fifty years, that looks like it did the day it was cast. And, oh yeah, these things look stunning.

The sculptures are growing. I have three sculptures made with two or three pennies “tied” together, and three sculptures made with at least six. I also have around thirty that are just single pennies, from before I could connect them. There are also ones spread throughout my extended family, I’m not sure how many. None of them look much like anything concrete, but they flow in a way that makes them look like abstract ideas. I have one that looks like celebration, one that looks like growth, etc. I have accumulated around 85 uncut pennies in my possession that should double my collection. Barring a crippling muscle stupidity, they will all get cut. But, as is probably evident in my jumping around from topic to topic, I have currently exhausted my thoughts in this right now. I’ll post some pictures once I gain access to a digital camera and am 100% certain this isn’t illegal (I’m hoping this is no different than those smooshed pennies you pay fifty cents for at Six Flags or something). Let’s see if this doesn’t get interesting.