This True Value Hardware ad struck me as negative. Instead of showing what good things their tools and advice do for the lawn and flowers they show a squirrel who dug up a flower bulb and the angry garden owner looking at him in frustration with the phrase "we've been there" at the top. I thought it would be best to transform this image making the squirrel hold a nut instead of the bulb and show a happy little girl playing in her garden looking exited to see the squirrel. Instead of the garden appearing destroyed, I added nice flowers and green grass. I wanted to show the joy of being in nature and sharing space with animals. I covered the "we've been there" phrase because it did not illustrate my positive message. However, I kept the message at the bottom because it fits with the new image, just giving it a positive twist. Instead of saying True Value can help you fix the mess rodents (such as this squirrel) do, I say here is what a beautiful, enticing and animal friendly garden True Value can help you achieve. I used cut up magazines, pastel, and marker to transform the image. Being my third digital media art remix, the process I felt very natural and comfortable to me.
Original image: Good Housekeeping magazine, June 2009, p. 33
Laurene
