Sunday 21 June 2020

Messy kitchen, part 2

The second part of my messy kitchen project was focused on details. The joy of a project like this is thinking of all small things that add to the authenticity, as well as tell a story. This scene tells a sad story, but it cannot be helped.

To begin with, I removed all objects from the box and added mold in the corners and dirt on the floor.



I made this really disgusting green mold by applying a thin layer of glue and rubbing in green oasis foam. I think the result is very convincing. Dirt is simply diluted brown paint.

Next, I put back the units, the fridge, the table and the cupboard and started playing with small objects. I put them in and removed and moved them around. Some items I initially was sure would be there proved superfluous, for various reasons. Some were slightly wrong scale, and you could see it. Some just didn't feel right. Also while I wanted chaos I didn't want to overload the scene too much.

When I thought I had found the right place, I fixed the item with a glue dot - it can be removed if needed. 

After a couple of intensive hours, here is what it looks like.




Of course, you cannot see all details in this picture, so let's have a closer look, clockwise from left bottom corner.


 


There is a garbage bin, a shopping basket, a dustpan and a pair of rubber boots. More or less tidy. Maybe not used too often. The bin is a shampoo bottle cap; the rest are commercial items that came in different lots. I have painted the basket.

A flattened package of cereal. It was already flattened when it arrived in a lot, and for once I didn't have to mend it. An empty bottle of juice - eye-drop container with a label cut from a catalogue. Quite a few objects here come from my retro kitchen, now demolished. The towel rack is made from a cooking-oil bottle cap, and the towel is a bit of a full-scale towel.




I showed the arrangement on the cooker, corner unit and sink in the previous post, and I haven't added much. The kitchen towel rack is commercial, and the brush - doesn't this pink colour speak volumes about its owner? - is from a larger lot. It is a perfect finishing touch on the hob.

The clock on the wall is made from a spice-jar lid, and the clock face is cut out from a catalogue. 




I have added a few things on the table, including a shoe and a roll of toilet paper, neither belonging there. Another shoe has somehow got into a fruit bowl on the floor, and there are bottles everywhere. Only a few bottles are authentic, with real labels. They are in the foreground, to catch attention. The rest are eye-drop containers, painted green. There is also a food magazine on the floor - an ironic or even sarcastic detail.




On the fridge, an ice tray - almost all ice has melted. A bottle and a can of coke. And you cannot see that the fridge door has been mended, can you?

On the chair, there is another whisky bottle, a fake bottle and a cap - whose cap? In the foreground, another shoe, another bottle (nice wine, can this person appreciate it? Maybe someone gave it to them), another crushed package, an old cassette player, a crumpled newspaper - and a fire extinguisher! At least if there is a fire, maybe it can be stopped.




The cupboard is relatively tidy, with plates and cups and groceries, but there is another empty bottle and a tooth brush. And what is a champagne bottle doing there?

There are of course many further details I can add. A full ashtray. A withered plant. A half-eaten bread roll. But I will stop for a while. A project is never finished.

One final thing I made was a LED-strip over the cooker. It is not essential, but can be nice for display.




I am pleased with the final look.



3 comments:

  1. Great article.

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  2. Such a fun display and a great way to experiment with filthy-ing up techniques! Had a HS girlfriend who lived in a home like this. We all pitched in and scrubbed it spotless. Thought her busy, single mom would be so happy. She was so mad!!! I guess some people like their mess and to each his own, I say!

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