Birthday!

Lindsay is my oldest son's fiancé who turns 24 today. I thought I'd wish her a happy birthday here. Though she's probably not my biggest blogging fan, she occasionally refers to me as "Blogger!" Becoming more comfortable with our nuclear family this year, she got me a "Nerd" t-shirt for my birthday. So I thought I should get her something to open today herself after the cake and the candles and stuff.

Coincidentally, the Ann Arbor Art Fair began its annual four-day run yesterday. And I had a couple hours to kill. Why not go?

I browsed about 100 or so booths, all brightly decorated with a veritable cornucopia of baubles, ceramics and wall hangings. Tempted on a slender ceramic vase adorned with a painted palm tree which you could hang from a hook on a wall. Also tempted on a tiny metal sculpture of a bug-like creature who held a sign that said, "I live for weekends." However I moved on to browse more.

Then I saw the booth I was looking for. Beer bottle artistry. The middle-aged, long-haired proprietor from Key West, Florida appeared to be doing brisk business with customers admiring his collection of recycled beer, wine and liquor bottles which had been melted in a kiln, then their label re-applied and cemented with lacquer.

"What is this one for?" an art shopper asked, eyeing a beer bottle that had been molded into a type of bowl.

"You can use that as an ash tray. Or you can throw your keys in it, or your jewelry. It's anything you want it to be." the artist replied.

Wow! Not only was it art, but it was useful art. What modern-day woman wouldn't want a Budweiser bottle bowl as a spoon-rest for her gourmet kitchen, or maybe to serve as a earring depository in her boudoir. I mean, any glass blower can create a fancy bottle or bowl to put on a shelf. But to take something ordinary and re-make it into a work of art for everyday use. That is way too cool.

And reading the artist's website, I discovered that he and his artist partner actually drink the beverage before recycling it into art. That would be akin to Leonardo DaVinci quaffing a bottle of wine, then creating a masterpiece on the empty jug. Not only would the purchaser get a work of art and a empty jug, they might even have a little dried slobber from the master himself.

No reason to browse any more. I picked out a Red Stripe bottle melted and crafted into a spoon-rest (or whatever)-- Red Stripe being the beer brewed and sold in Jamaica. And Greg and Lindsay went to Jamaica for Lindsay's sister's wedding last year. So it should bring back fond memories of the tropics as well.

What do you think? I think I've set the bar pretty high for Christmas myself.