Abstract:
A decorative and artistic article is made using the color bars found in various consumer packages such as cigarette or cereal boxes. A particular color bar is first identified and separated from its packaging. The color bar may be used as separated or modified in shape. The obtained color bar is then mounted for display in a number of different arrangements such as a pin that can be attached to a person or article, or a frame for display on a surface.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention is directed to a decorative article, and a method of making, and in particular, to the use of a color bar that is found in packaging as the artistic and decorative aspect of the article.  
         BACKGROUND ART  
         [0002]    In the prior art, many printed packages include a color bar, which identifies the colors used in the packaging. One example is a boxed cigarette package  10  as shown in FIG. 1. The package  10  has a lid  3 , and cigarettes are held in a box  2 . The lid  3  is shown opened in FIG. 2 for better illustration and includes the hinge  5  that allows the lid  3  to move between open and closed states. The lid  3  also has a front  7 , a top  8 , and a pair of sides  9 . Disposed within the interior of the lid  3  are a pair of flaps  11  and  12 , each of which connects to another part of the lid along line  14 .  
           [0003]    Referring now to FIG. 3, flap  12  is connected to another flap  16 , the flap  16  connected to the lid face  18  at junction line  19 . The flap  16  is then glued to the side  9  to help form the lid  3 . Although not shown, the opposite side of the lid  3  with flap  11  has a similar construction. The flaps  11  and  12  are generally held in place against the top  8  by the use of a sealant or adhesive. To better illustrate the flap construction, one side  9  of the lid  3  is separated at the junction line where it joins the top  8 , and the flap  11  is folded upwardly against the side  9  so as to be adjacent the counterpart to flap  16 , which is not visible. The folded up flap  11  (the direction of folding is shown by the arrow associated with flap  12 ) exposes the underside surface  21  of the flap  11 . This underside surface is a color bar  23 . The depicted color bar shows a number of dots  25 ,  27 ,  29 ,  31 , and a border  33 . The dots and bar in the color bar  23  represent colors that are used in the printing of the box exterior. In this example, the colored border  33  runs along another flap  35  under the top  8 , the flap  35  extending from the top  8  at fold line  37 . In other color bars, there may be no border, only a single dot may be present, or other colored shapes such as triangles, squares, spoked circles, different shaped borders, etc., and combinations thereof may be utilized.  
           [0004]    In some instances, the color bar  23  is normally located in the corner of a sheet of printed stock. In this case, the color bar would not be present in every package since the printed stock is used to manufacture a number of packages, and only one color bar is available for number of packages. In other instances, each package may have a color bar.  
           [0005]    When the stock is made into the designated package, the color bar location can vary but usually it may be found on a package lid as shown in FIGS.  1 - 3 . Of course, the bar can be situated in different locations depending on the package. For example, in cereal boxes, the color bar can be found on a flap forming the box top or bottom. Although the bar is present with the package, it effectively serves no functional purpose once the package is sold, and it is generally destroyed with the package  1  once the content of the package is used.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    It is a first object of the present invention to provide a decorative and artistic article, particularly a high art object that is derived from a previously unrecognized element from a consumer or other product.  
           [0007]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of making the decorative and artistic article.  
           [0008]    Yet another object of the invention is to use the color bar of a package as part of the decorative and artistic article.  
           [0009]    Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as a description thereof proceeds.  
           [0010]    In satisfaction of the foregoing objects and inventions, the present invention provides a method of making a decorative article comprising the step of obtaining a color bar from a printed package by removing it from the package, and mounting the color bar on a holder or mounting means for display purposes. In one embodiment, the color bar can be covered or encased in a clear material such as a plastic and include a pin backing on a rear face for mounting as a lapel or article pin. Alternatively, the color bar could be framed or the like and supported on a vertical or horizontal surface, much like artwork, or photography. The color bar is generally not recognizable to a consumer when viewing the printed package. Thus, the inventive method, in effect, transforms the color bar from the unseen to the seen, and at the same time characterizes it as art, rather than an element of the printed package destined for the trash once the package serves it intended purpose.  
           [0011]    If a number of decorative articles are made, the color bar could be duplicated by copying or the like, and the duplicates could be utilized once the color bar is actually identified and obtained as the principal design of the decorative article.  
           [0012]    Although the color bar could be obtained from any number of packages, preferred color bars are those obtained from cereal or other food boxes or cigarette boxes since these color bars have more artistic appeal. The color bar can be used in the same shape as found on the package, or can be modified by cutting or the like prior to mounting for display. In this mode, the color bar could be made into different shapes such as triangles, squares, etc., providing of course that the color shapes on the bar itself are not eliminated.  
           [0013]    The invention also includes the decorative article made from the method described above. The article comprises the color bar as it is obtained from the printed package via tearing, cutting, or the like. Once obtained, the bar is mounted for display using a mounting means or holder arrangement. The mounting means or arrangements can include lapel or article pins, frames, holders that mount to a surface, or similar types thereto.  
           [0014]    In a preferred embodiment, the article is an article or lapel pin wherein the pin is supported by a pin backing such as a safety or clutch pin backing. The holder arrangement can include a clear material that covers one face or the entire color bar, with the pin backing attached to a rear face of the bar or material using an adhesive or the like. Alternatively, the color bar could be framed (with or without a clear material) to be supported on a surface, e.g., vertical or horizontal.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]    Reference is now made to the drawings of the invention wherein:  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 shows a cigarette box in perspective;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 shows the lid of the box of FIG. 1 removed;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 shows the lid of FIG. 2 partially disassembled;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 4 shows one embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0021]    The present invention provides an art object from a typically unrecognizable commercial element and places it into the context of high art. The article is attractive not only from an aesthetic point of view, but also by reason of the source of the artwork, i.e., consumer packages that would end up as trash. Each article is in effect linked to a consumer product, thus providing conversation stimuli when the articles are being worn by persons who may have never realized the origin of their art object. Further, since the color bars are effectively trash, the material costs for article manufacture are low.  
         [0022]    Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the method of the invention involves first obtaining the color bar  23  from a package such as a cigarette box, cereal box or the like. The color bar  23  is then removed from the package, usually by tearing or cutting the flap containing the color bar  23  from the package, or cutting the color bar from the flap. In the instance where the cigarette box color bar is used, the flap is removed at the line  14  and is ideally dimensioned for article use in that state. Of course, the color bar could be obtained from another package such as a tissue box or cereal box, and cut or torn from the package in the appropriate dimension, or torn or cut to separate the color bar from the package, and later altered in terms of dimension to form the decorative and artistic article. An attractive aspect of the method is the fact that the color bar is not visible or is not easily recognized from the package when it is purchased and/or used by the consumer. The inventive method permits this once invisible or unrecognizable element to be transformed into an art object. This transformation from the unseen to the seen can be used to increase interest and value in the art object itself.  
         [0023]    One embodiment of the invention is depicted in FIG. 4 as reference numeral  40 . In this embodiment, the color bar  23  is surrounded by a frame  41  for display, the frame held up by the frame leg  43 . Although not shown, any type of frame supporting method can be used for display purposes, a nail/wire, or the like for wall hanging or a leg or the like to support the frame on a horizontal surface. The frame could use a glass or other barrier to a surface of the color bar  23  if desired. Further, the color bar can be attached to the frame using conventional techniques.  
         [0024]    Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 5 as a pin  50  for wear on a person or article such as a purse, bag, or the like. The color bar  23  is enclosed in a clear material  51 . The color bar may be enclosed in the clear, material in any conventional fashion, such as through the use of a clear plastic material and a laminating process wherein the color bar is encased between two sheets of clear material, and the edges of the material are sealed together. In another mode, only the front surface of the color bar  23  could be covered with a transparent or even a translucent material. Yet in another mode, the color bar could be adhered to a substrate for strength.  
         [0025]    In order to display the pin  50 , a safety pin back  53  can be attached to a rear surface  55  of the material  51  using an adhesive or the like. The disclosed safety pin back  53  is the conventional type whereby the pin penetrates the material the pin will be supported by and the pin end is blocked by engagement with a loop (lockable if desired) so that the pin cannot slide off of the material. Another example of a pin back would be a clutch pin back wherein a pin is mounted on the rear surface  55 , and a clutch pin holder is provided to secure the pin end once it penetrates the material. Of course, virtually any type of an attachment device can be secured to the rear of the material or color bar to a person or article for display.  
         [0026]    In certain instances, it may be desirable to make a number of decorative articles, based on a particular color bar obtained from a package. However, obtaining the number of packages to create the desired number of articles may be difficult to do, since the packages are essentially trash. In these situations, once the color bar is obtained, it may be duplicated by copying, reprinting, etc. in order to create enough color bars to make the target number of articles. Even in this mode, the duplicated color bars are based on an initially obtained color bar, so that the completed article still represents an actual consumer product color bar.  
         [0027]    While a pin and a framed article are illustrated as ways to display the color bars, any type of a mounting means or holder arrangement can be employed to display the color bar. For example, a clamp type device could be used to display the color bar. The color bar could be mounted on the end of a pin for lapel wear, or a color bar could be wedged between the tines of a holder much like a card is held in a bouquet of flowers. The term holder arrangement is intended to encompass any type of a support, substrate, frame, or the like that could be utilized to display the color bar for its decorative and artistic content.  
         [0028]    As such, an invention has been disclosed in terms of preferred embodiments thereof which fulfills each and every one of the objects of the present invention as set forth above and provides decorative and artistic articles as well as methods of making the same.  
         [0029]    Of course, various changes, modifications, and alterations from the teachings of the present invention may be contemplated by those skilled in the art without departing from the intended spirit and scope thereof. It is intended that the present invention only be limited by the terms of the appended claims.