In 2012 I visited Kansas City, and in Kansas City lives Just Colcord. Just is an artist who uses found objects in his sculptures. I took photos of him in his apartment, and posted those photos as a blog post here.

I asked him about buying a piece of his artwork, but he said he doesn’t sell his pieces for money. Money is too easy to earn and use to buy unique pieces of art, and someone should have to put in more effort to buy something Just has put effort into making.

He’d previously mentioned that after the apocalypse, bottle tops with the anti-tamper rings turned inside out and wrapped around them would become money. “The Currency of the Future” he called it. I proposed a deal. I’d collect 100 such bottle tops, and he’d see if that was enough to “buy” a piece of his artwork.

So that’s what I did. From September 2012 to December 2013, if I bought and drank out of a bottle with the right kind of anti-tamper ring, I wrote a number on it, and took an iPhone photo of it in the location I finished the bottle.

It’s been a fun project. The results are below. The 100 bottle tops are currently in the post, on the way to Kansas City.

New York laundrette, September 2012.

US Open Final, New York, September 2012.

New York Metro, September 2012.

JFK Airport, New York, September 2012.

Gullfoss, Iceland, September 2012.

New York from New Jersey, September 2012.

Athens, September 2012.

The Acropolis, Athens, September 2012.

Athens, September 2012.

Dinner with family, England, October 2012.

Matilda The Musical, London, October 2012.

Gibraltar Airport, October 2012.

Istanbul Airpot, October 2012.

Kusadasi, Turkey, October 2012.

Bodrum, Turkey, October 2012.

Santorini, Greece, October 2012.

Berlin Zoo, November 2012.

Napoli, Italy, November 2012.

Lanzarote, December 2012.

Cape Verde, December 2012.

Mindelo, Cape Verde, December 2012.

Tarquinia, Italy, December 2012.

Pisa, Italy, December 2012.

Bercelona, Spain, December 2012.

Aqaba, Jordan, March 2013.

Petra, Jordan, March 2013.

Santiago Airport, Chile, April 2013.

Valparaiso, Chile, April 2013.

Lima, Peru, April 2013.

Lima again, Peru, April 2013.

Manta, Equador, April 2013.

Quito, Equador, April 2013.

Schiphol Airport, Netherlands, April 2013.

A Coruna, Spain, May 2013.

Dover, England, May 2013.

Wildau, Germany, May 2013.

Dutch Juggling Convention, 2013.

Warnemunde, Germany, May 2013.

Tallinn Airport, Estonia, May 2013.

Bird nest in my back yard, Berlin, May 2013.

Potsdam, Germany, May 2013.

Wildau, Germany, May 2013.

Berlin, Germany, June 2013.

Potsdam, Germany, June 2013.

Berlin Juggling Convention, June 2013.

Berlin, Germany, June 2013.

Victoria Park, Berlin, Germany, June 2013.

Berlin Zoo, July 2013.

Berlin, Germany, July 2013.

Victoria Park, Berlin, Germany, July 2013.

Heathrow Ariport, London, July 2013.

Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, July 2013.

Reykjavik, Iceland, July 2013.

Muse concert, Berlin, July 2013.

Trier, Germany, July 2013.

Luxembourg, July 2013.

Reims, France, July 2013.

Paris, July 2013.

Paris again, July 2013.

Amboise, France, July 2013.

Montlouis-sur-Loire, France, July 2013.

Chenonceaux, France, July 2013.

Villandry, France, July 2013.

Villandry again, France, July 2013.

Blois House of Magic, France, July 2013.

Manoir de Clenord, France, July 2013.

Dune de Pyla, France, July 2013.

Condom, France, July 2013.

I’m not kidding about being in Condom, France, July 2013.

European Juggling Convention, Toulouse, France, July 2013.

EJC again, Toulouse, France, July 2013.

Toulouse, France, August 2013.

Sete, France, August 2013.

Avignon, France, August 2013.

Pont du Gard, France, August 2013.

Berlin, September 2013.

Berlin again, September 2013.

Henrys shop, Karlsruhe, Germany, September 2013.

Durlach, Germany, September 2013.

Karlsruhe, Germany, September 2013.

Karlsruhe again, Germany, September 2013.

Brandenburger Tor, Berlin, September 2013.

Holocaust Memorial, Berlin, September 2013.

Bode Museum, Berlin, September 2013.

Olympiastadion Berlin, September 2013.

Stasi Museum, Berlin, September 2013.

Color Run Berlin, October 2013.

Palermo, Sicily, October 2013.

Olbia, Sardinia, October 2013.

Fontvieille, Monaco, October 2013.

Monte Carlo, Monaco, October 2013.

Tempelhofer Feld, Berlin, November 2013.

Berlin Zoo, November 2013.

Nürnberg, Germany, November 2013.

Nürnberg Juggling Convention, November 2013.

Madrid Airport, Spain, December 2013.

Teatro Amazonas, Manaus, Brazil, November 2013.

Meeting of the Waters, Amazon River, Brazil, December 2013.

Barbados Airport, December 2013.

JFK Airport, New York, December 2013.

I love to read comments and feedback about my blog posts. Please email me, I reply to every message: luke@juggler.net

Who’s this little guy? Zongo. He’s a hard smoking wooden robot, made by Just Colcord.

Just invited me around to check out his apartment, and I must admit it was the most interesting place I visited during my stay in Kansas City.

Just has been making toys, and experimenting with stop motion movies featuring those toys, for only one year. He’s always been an obsessive collector of interesting trinkets and small bits of junk, and making them into toys is one way of channeling his energies.

I took all these photos over the course of about 10 minutes. I wish I had better lighting, and had more time, because these few snaps don’t do justice to Just’s massive collections and artistic creations. This is Nozog.

Meet Onzog. Or was this Oznog?

Maybe this is Nozog, not Zongo.

Not only has Just been making toys, but also many, many sets for his stop motion movies.

Boxes and boxes of… things.

Just began displaying his art and toys in local markets, but doesn’t sell any of them. Instead he takes donations to support his creative endeavors, and makes donors small gifts in return.

This one is called “Attack of the wheel nuts.”

A close-up of a box scene.

His apartment contains many cabinets of curiosities. And what are some of those curiosities?

A miniature cabinet of curiosities inside a curiosity cabinet.

All the mini bottles contain used yoyo strings, coiled inside in a very precise manner. Many bottles have notes, reminding Just of the day and reason he put the string in the bottle. Literally, bottling memories.

More toys made from found objects.

Buttons, bullet casings, shotgun rounds…

R2-D2 vs Dalek.

Sunglasses fairy.

Priceless, of course, because none of Just’s artwork is for sale.

All the work takes place in the kitchen.

Opening a kitchen cabinet, I found yet more scenes with toys.

These are the currency of the future.

Thanks for showing me around, Just!

I love to read comments and feedback about my blog posts. Please email me, I reply to every message: luke@juggler.net