"Don't take the free ride in your own life."

I don't know why, exactly, but the Nickelback song written by Chad Kroeger, "If Today Was Your Last Day," really resonates for me. I don't live my life that way, but I wish I could. One line in particular, Don't take the free ride in your own life, is one of the most eloquent in the whole song. I wanted to make an art piece, something I could hang near my desk to remind me of that, to urge me to do more, to be more.

Originally, I thought I'd just do something on the computer, typographic sort of art. I had some canvas boards in the basement, and an old pill bottle full of fortunes from cookies I'd been saving for years. I wanted to use them together, since that phrase sort of sounds like something you'd get in a fortune cookie. I decided to make a smeary, abstract background with blues and greens on the canvas, glue the fortunes in an offset grid, and then use the typographic art I had already done and somehow marry the two. The problem was, one of the fonts I used (Zapfino) has really delicate trailing ascenders and descenders. How could I cut those out and raise them off the canvas without it looking stupid or tearing?

After sitting on my finished background for ages (I've been working on this since August 2012), I finally figured out how to make it all work: painted Plexiglass. I needed two layers, because I wanted the two different typefaces (Zapfino and Rockwell Extra Bold) to float away from the background and each other, and I wanted to use two different colors for them; black for Rockwell, and red for Zapfino. I had to use Plexi, because two sheets of glass, 14x18", would have been insanely heavy. Talking to a woman at Michael's in the framing department they could do it for me, but all they have is the conservation stuff that comes with UV coating. Each piece would have been well over $20. (Yikes.) I found Mat Board & More and they set me up. The pieces are thinner than I would have liked, but the finished piece will be even lighter for it, and maybe it will be easier to find a frame to accommodate it all.

This morning, with all the pieces in place, the kid back in school after a spring break that lasted approximately seven years, I got the painting done. I didn't aim for perfection, didn't make sure that the corners were perfect, or that brushstrokes were invisible. I just let it happen. (And I'm kinda proud of myself for that.)

Background layer

Closeup of background

My painting guide - checking to make sure I can see it well enough

Layer one, done!

Layer 2 needs a second coat

Stacked layers

DONE!

I'm really pleased with how well it turned out, and so glad this work in progress is now a work completed.

By the way, if you're here to tell me "Nickelback sucks!" first of all, grow up. Secondly, this isn't about Nickelback, it's about music inspiring other media, and finding personal meaning in it. Any negative comments about the band will be deleted. Really; grow up. Not everyone likes the same things. Vive la différence!

Don't Take the Free Ride

I know a lot of people really hate Nickelback, though I don't really understand why. Whatever. Their song, "If Today Was Your Last Day" written by Chad Kroeger, from the album Dark Horse (2008), has a great deal of resonance for me. Here are the lyrics if you don't know it:

My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had, if today was your last day?
What if, what if, if today was your last day?

Against the grain should be a way of life
What's worth the price is always worth the fight
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
So live like you're never living twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had?

And would you call those friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
And would you find that one you're dreaming of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?

If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars
Regardless of who you are

So do whatever it takes
'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life
Let nothing stand in your way
'Cause the hands of time are never on your side

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had?

And would you call those friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
And would you find that one you're dreaming of
Swear up and down to God above
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?

Some people might think that it's rather trite, but there's one line in particular that rings like a bell in my head: "Don't take the free ride in your own life." That single line makes me want to be better, do more, be daring, take risks. If you spend all your time analyzing if something will work, you may never actually find out if it does.

There's about 90 in that pile. I don't remember when I started saving them.

I've been saving fortune cookie fortunes for years, with no real clear idea of what I wanted to do with them, but saving them nonetheless. Now I know. If you read the lyrics, some of them are short and pithy: "live like you're never living twice," "it's never too late to shoot for the stars," "the hands of time are never on your side." Don't those sound a little like fortunes? Here's some from my cookies: "Rely on your own good judgement to lead you to success." "Nothing in the world is accomplished without passion." "Be quicker of mind than of tongue."

As I was poking through them, I noted that there are some duplicates, and I suppose I could omit them, but I don't think that I need to or should. I'd be astonished if there aren't more, given my horrid habit of stashing things everywhere, but this is the majority of them, and I think sufficient for what I have in mind. I'm going to take that single, resonating line and superimpose it over a canvas covered with fortunes. The size of the canvas will be dictated by the number of fortunes, but it looks like I have enough to cover an area 14x18 inches (leaving some space between fortunes), and leave space at the edge for framing.

Unfortunately, I have really lousy handwriting. (Really. Lousy. Handwriting. People have asked me if I was a doctor upon seeing my signature -- true story!) Putting a paintbrush in my hand isn't going to make me a calligrapher, so I may attempt to recreate the above text with cardstock and an X-acto knife. Dunno, I'll see when I get there.

Also, I will be at the Salt Fork River Art Festival again this year, at the Sleepy Creek Vineyards in Fairmount, Illinois (just outside Oakwood, in east central Illinois). It's a lot of fun, there are lots of wonderful artists and artisans, live entertainment and demonstrations, plus... WINE!