During my recent trip to Las Vegas, I developed a bit of an addiction to some of the machines I came across there. While I find dropping coins into slot machines a boring waste of time, I was quite fascinated with Artomat-converted cigarette vending machines that are now used as original artwork dispensers. For a five dollar bill (the price of a greeting card) you are guaranteed a hand created piece of art. And while you get a sense of the artists work by the description on the column, it is always a surprise to see what you get. I was hooked.
When I first saw these, I had a vague recollection of having read about them somewhere and then it hit me...it was from Jen. I had to do some hunting through past posts but I found her entry about artomat here. I laughed at my comment on her post... "what fun. and what will power you have…i’m sure i would have dropped at least $20" Well, I'm embarrassed to say I did at least that! Here is most of what I got.
The artwork as it came out of the machine...
...and below, without the wrap or box it came in.
If you know me, you also know I could have emptied the machine of those adorable pincushions (but I didn't). But I did get most of my friends I was working with interested and we cleared out all of the "moon goddess" necklaces so we could each wear one home.
Look for one in your neighborhood.
