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The[Crafty]Gamer: Luke Robinson
This week The[Crafty]Gamer features Missouri native Luke Robinson and his bottle cap art. The PE instructor has recreated his favorite childhood video game characters using different colored bottle caps to ensure each pixel is accounted for. Read on for more.
The[Crafty]Gamer: Luke Robinson
Age: 26
Hometown: Columbia, MO
Occupation: PE teacher at Lee Expressive Arts Elementary
Creation: Bottle Cap Art
Tell us about your bottle cap work. What’s the inspiration behind it?
I like collecting and redistributing bottle caps in kitschy ways through pictures. Classic NES characters are my favorite both because I grew up with them and they lend themselves easily to very pixilated images.
How much time does each take to create?
Laying out the caps is quick, but formatting the grids and drinking the beer takes time.
How many bottle caps do you use? How'd you get so many?
It depends on the picture. I use anywhere from 150 to well over 1,400 on the bigger pieces. I started making these signs in college so I never had a shortage of caps. Now it takes me a little longer to drink the beer required so I have to use some friends for help.
Is your work available for purchase anywhere other than Etsy [site for hand-crafted items]? If so, where and how much?
No. A friend told me about Etsy and that I should try it out. I like making them and showing them off so selling them is really secondary. I have a number of people send me messages that they enjoyed them and that’s a lot fun.
Any other information you’d like to share about yourself (do you have a background in arts/crafts? favorite games? etc.)?
I work at an expressive art elementary where we believe learning through the arts better prepares children for life, so everyone should try creating and building. There is a great sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with expressing yourself in any fashion. As far as games go, I enjoy everything from River Raid on Atari, to Halo 3: ODST multiplayer. It's not the consoles that matter. It's the games.
Any Web links to other work?
Check out Luke Robinson's etsy pages for Mario, Ghost and Mega Man in bottle cap form.
The[Crafty]Gamer is currently looking for submissions. Check out the submission guidelines and e-mail me at annette@gameinformer.com.
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