Dots and Zeros [Completed]

23. Sam

February 21

The new idea came to me as I was taking a shower with the soap Madeline left at the apartment. Her soap smelled like something I couldn't quite place. When I looked at the bottle to see what the manufacturer wanted you to think it was, I read 'lavender and cinnamon'.

Lavender. Spring, flowers, temperatures rising, shorts and tank tops.

Cinnamon. Winter, hot chocolate, snow, multiple scarfs.

These two opposites made a soap that wasn't all that bad. Two opposites creating harmony. I immediately thought of the color combination yellow and purple. Opposite on the color wheel, yet complimentary.

A new exposition theme was born.

'I'm not sure I can do that, sir.'

The boy behind the register looks uncomfortable. I don't understand why. I asked a simple question.

'Why not?' I ask.

'Because we only sell twenty-five pounds of concrete powder. We don't have smaller bags.'

'But I don't need that much.'

'Yes, you said that earlier. I'm sorry, may I ask what it's for?'

Finally someone's who's interested in what I do.

'You see,' I start. 'I got an amazing idea yesterday. Truly the most innovative idea I've ever had. And I got it from soap! It's unbelievable how my brain works. I'm going to make a whole collection of art pieces centered around the idea of opposites. And what is the opposite of paint? Concrete powder!'

He raises one of his eyebrows. I talk again before he can speak.

'I see you're confused but hear me out. Paint is fluid and colorful. What isn't? Gray concrete powder. But I only need it for one painting. What I need at most is two pounds. You see, I'm not using different shades of gray. Instead, I'll use a third dimension to create the picture. It'll come up, out of the painting. That way-'

'Sir, if I can interrupt you for one second.'

'What is it?'

'I'll get my manager to see if he can help you. One second please.'

His manager couldn't help me further. He wasn't even interested in my idea. Now I need to find a place in my apartment to store twenty-five pounds of concrete powder.

And it didn't stop there. Of course it didn't.

Working with concrete powder wasn't easy. For the next one I chose normal paint. I have plenty of that anyway.

It might be a little dark. Don't ask me how I got to the idea, but hear me out: a funeral meets a birthday party. Death and birth in the same picture. Again, combining two opposites to make one thing. After all, people die and get birthed every single day.

I'm lying on my stomach in bed with the sketchbook in front of me. I already filled three pages of different compositions. I can't choose.

I flip back and forth to compare them. Maybe I can make it into some sort of collage. Some people might say the opposite of one image is no images. But I'd argue that the opposite of one is many.

Lastly, my final idea. I found a dress in my closet. You know how I posed in Madeline's sweatpants to finish a painting of her? I found more of her clothing. They were right where I found that set.

A dainty summer dress. Lilac and pastel yellow flowers on a white background. It's two birds with one stone; yellow and purple as well as masculine and feminine.