Early Warning System - "Canary In A Coal Mine Alert"

"Early Warning System... Canary in A Coal Mine Alert"

Background: "Canary in a coal mine": Something whose sensitivity to adverse conditions makes it a useful early indicator of such conditions; something which warns of the coming of greater danger or trouble by a deterioration in its health or welfare.

This is a political art assemblage... (lots of symbolism in this one) ....at the top is a cast iron replica of The White House - no longer white, tarnished in reality these days too! A cast iron eagle, symbolic of our freedom is taking a nose dive, aren't our freedoms doing the same lately?
A stormy sky in the background, and even the grass and trees around the Capital building are dying off, as well as the canary in the early warning system.. we are facing a toxic mess in Washington DC for sure!

Mortimer Snerd W/Charlie in the style of Joseph Cornell

This is a fun assemblage, using an old liquor container, Mortimer Snerd, who was the second dummy of ventriloquist, Edgar Bergman.  Edgar's first and most famous dummy was Charlie McCarthy.  Featured in this assemblage shadow box, is Mortimer, with a photo in the background of him with Edgar and Charlie.  In the shot glasses are pool balls.. 38 (symbolic of 1938, the first appearance of Mortimer Snerd.) and also pool ball number 1 with a vintage Charlie McCarthy child's spoon.  Since Charlie was the first puppet dummy, it seemed to fit.  The bird on top is just for fun, and since Joseph Cornell often used birds and shot glasses in his art, it seemed to fit too.