Well, July was quite a busy month personally, professionally, and artistically, so I'm glad I am able to find the time today to blog! As you may have noticed, last weekend I had the privilege of teaching a workshop at Mesh Baltimore on how to make art out of recycled materials. As an artist and experimenter myself, I wouldn't say there are any "rules" to making art out of recycled materials, but I have made a lot of recycled art and can share some of my thoughts and insights with others. So, here is some information I put together for anyone wanting to create new things out of the objects around them. By the way, you can see plenty of my own work out of recycled materials by visiting my Man webpage and Handmade Paper webpage.
Suggested Materials: Newspaper, cardboard, plastic bags, junkmail, found objects (twigs, leaves, bottle caps, trash, broken jewelry, nails, screws), discarded/second-hand frames, any kind of grid material, found board
Suggested Supplies: hole punch, scissors, glue (acid-free paste, gorilla glue, acrylic medium), needle and thread, string, yarn, epoxy.
Suggested Processes: collage (layering 2D objects on a backing), assemblage (sculpture or 3D installation comprised of found objects), sewing, crocheting, weaving
Design principles: repetition, contrast, texture, value (light and dark), scale, composition
How to approach your piece: Always make it fun—experiment and make a lot! Art is a practice, so spend some time getting your ideas out, learning your materials, and learning the things you like to do. Are you patient and can spend hours on a piece, or do you like to work spontaneous and fast? After time, you may want to think harder about what ideas, themes and meanings you can express. Consider the following: What is the meaning, association, of my materials? How can I use their inherent properties (color, texture, normal use/context) to make a statement? Examples of themes: irony, past, present, future, humor, culture.
Suggested Materials: Newspaper, cardboard, plastic bags, junkmail, found objects (twigs, leaves, bottle caps, trash, broken jewelry, nails, screws), discarded/second-hand frames, any kind of grid material, found board
Suggested Supplies: hole punch, scissors, glue (acid-free paste, gorilla glue, acrylic medium), needle and thread, string, yarn, epoxy.
Suggested Processes: collage (layering 2D objects on a backing), assemblage (sculpture or 3D installation comprised of found objects), sewing, crocheting, weaving
Design principles: repetition, contrast, texture, value (light and dark), scale, composition
How to approach your piece: Always make it fun—experiment and make a lot! Art is a practice, so spend some time getting your ideas out, learning your materials, and learning the things you like to do. Are you patient and can spend hours on a piece, or do you like to work spontaneous and fast? After time, you may want to think harder about what ideas, themes and meanings you can express. Consider the following: What is the meaning, association, of my materials? How can I use their inherent properties (color, texture, normal use/context) to make a statement? Examples of themes: irony, past, present, future, humor, culture.
Here's a piece where the artist was thinking very deliberately about the meaning of the materials and the presentation of the piece. "What Came First?" Made out of eggshells by artist Kyle Bean.
Tips:
- Research and study handmade objects and processes. Collage is not the only thing you can do with recycled materials. Get inspiration from how quilts, rugs, furniture, paper, pinatas are made.
- Think about what you can do with your hands already. Tie knots, braid, crochet, knit, origami, woodworking. How can you apply your skills to the materials?
- Think outside the box: twist, cut, shred, harden, glue, connect, fold, crumple, dangle... art is often about verbs.
- Think about the objects (trash, papers, bottles, etc.) that accumulate in your life. What do these things say about you? About society? About today?
- Repetition can be a strong and easy way to give your piece more conviction.
- If you're using printed materials, what does the text or images say? Is it important? How can you highlight that?
- Think about presentation. How will you display it?
Ideas often come from looking at other things. Check out these links or do your own research to get inspiration:
El Anatsui, artist
Indo, window display artists
Mary England, artist and blogger
Kyle Bean, artist
How to make handmade paper
How to make a pinata
So, there you have it! What kind of art have you made out of recycled materials?
- Research and study handmade objects and processes. Collage is not the only thing you can do with recycled materials. Get inspiration from how quilts, rugs, furniture, paper, pinatas are made.
- Think about what you can do with your hands already. Tie knots, braid, crochet, knit, origami, woodworking. How can you apply your skills to the materials?
- Think outside the box: twist, cut, shred, harden, glue, connect, fold, crumple, dangle... art is often about verbs.
- Think about the objects (trash, papers, bottles, etc.) that accumulate in your life. What do these things say about you? About society? About today?
- Repetition can be a strong and easy way to give your piece more conviction.
- If you're using printed materials, what does the text or images say? Is it important? How can you highlight that?
- Think about presentation. How will you display it?
Ideas often come from looking at other things. Check out these links or do your own research to get inspiration:
El Anatsui, artist
Indo, window display artists
Mary England, artist and blogger
Kyle Bean, artist
How to make handmade paper
How to make a pinata
So, there you have it! What kind of art have you made out of recycled materials?
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