Bottlecap Mural Update

Sorted caps awaiting storage.

As of this writing I have about 5000 bottlecaps.  My estimate is that I will need approximately 15,000 caps, so I'm about 1/3 of the way there.  Yay!

I receive donations every week and I'm still finding unique caps.  Some people give me a few caps at a time and others give me gallon bags full.  Some people are very consistent in what they drink, others strive for variety.  I work in a library and word has spread about my project, so I'm actually getting caps from total strangers now - the project has definitely gained a life of it's own!

One square foot of caps - that's a lot of beer!

I've started thinking about design ideas and found a book on my own shelves that may help me out.  Designs and Patterns from North African Carpets and Textiles may be my major source of inspiration.  Most of the designs are based on an offset grid (the caps above are arranged in this manner); many are strip-based (borders), but others are whole carpet patterns.  There are a lot of geometrics, but plenty of animals and plants too.

I will need about 100 caps per square foot and I think I have enough cap diversity to start trying samples.  Stay tuned for more!