Welcome to Miami
I went big on this ToyBox titled "Welcome to Miami", in celebration of my beautiful new hometown Miami.
I decided to use a famous Miami icon I see sprawled on a giant billboard every day on the way to my studio, "The Coppertone Girl": what's more reflective of Miami than that?
This piece was made entirely with recycled toys found on my daily beach walks. These toys, forgotten or lost by children, took quite some time to gather but they now are part of an art piece representing those sandy Miami beaches.
Fun fact behind the "Coppertone girl":
Joyce Ballantyne Brand drew the image of a puppy tugging at the bathing suit of a little girl in 1959. The artist's daughter, Cheri Brand Irwin was the model for that ad, and our own Jodie Foster played this little girl in the TV ad then. Even though Cheri once had the most famous "derriere" in America , it still caused some stir recently, when a mom reenacted the ad with her daughter...
Materials: Spray paint, glitter vinyl, multiple unique vintage, collectible and/or recycled beach toys framed in a 3D lacquered white wood frame and plexiglass front protector.
Dimensions: 60”x 70″x 5.25″
Weight: 120 lbs ( only used metal brackets)
Limited edition of 10. Though each piece is truly unique due to toys used.