Using trash in artistic gardens

 Todays two artists love using reclaimed objects to add design and definition to their homes.  Check out their work and an open collaborative upcycle sculpture project being run by Danielle Barbour in Warwick, NY this summer.

Stacey Monks

While looking for do-it-yourself garden projects, Tennessee mother and crafter Stacey Monks was inspired by a dresser-turned-planter she found online.  

“Someone had this dresser in the garbage,” she said.  “We nailed it to the tree, shimmed on bottom, and… put a brace in the back and drilled it into tree so it doesn’t move.”

The drawers are filled with perennial creepers that will eventually spill over the edges, using their root systems to hold the dresser together when weather begins to break it down.  She also left room to plant new annuals every year that will reflect the changes in her yard and her life in this ever-changing piece of upcycled art.

Stacey upcycles not only because she loves to craft, but because she is trying to downsize on some of the items in her home.  She’s used dome light coverings to make bird baths, and an old tractor tire to make a garden pond. Crafting with reclaimed materials allows her to use things she already has rather than adding to the clutter in her home.  In addition to keeping things out of landfills, it also saves her money.

Garden pond made from an upcycled tractor tire

“I’m an efficiency expert at work,” Stacey said.  “I make things faster, I work towards getting companies to go paperless, maximizing resources and minimizing waste.  I can’t do efficiency at work and not do it here.  I have two kids and in a few decades they’re gonna get what I throw out.”

decorative flowers made from soda bottles and spray paint

Crafting keeps Stacey busy and keeps her creating.   “I like making something pretty out of something that’s simple… Not only am I making something pretty, but I’m making something pretty out of something that’s not going in a landfill.”

Find Stacey Monks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stacey.monks

Stacey will seal this mosaic made from reclaimed jewelry and place it in her garden.

Danielle Barbour

Artist Danielle Barbour of Warwick, NY has a newfound love for pallets.  She’s used them to provide structure for an artistically designed couch, and a bar built with an old fish tank stand and a piece of granite countertop that was being thrown away.

She’s even used pallets to create a meditative garden in her yard.

Danielle's mediative garden made from pallets is in its first year

Danielle has a background in fine art, and is using that knowledge and talent to coordinate a collaborative sculpture project.  Participants in the project will use their creativity to create a sculpture using donated pieces of coroplast [http://www.coroplast.com/] that were destined for the trash.

This free day of art will be held on August 17^th in Warwick, NY.  If interested contact Artist Danielle Rose Barbour [https://www.facebook.com/ArtistDanielleBarbour]  or visit the Facebook event https://www.facebook.com/events/517060631754159/ to RSVP.  

This and other events can also be found on the Mind Key Calendar  click www.MindKey.me/calendar, or use the calendar tab in the menu bar above.

This week's blogroll:

"Art or Garbage: What is Upcycling?"
"'Retrash': Finding Beauty in Lost Things"
"Poptabs Purses: Weaving art from tiny shiny things"

Poptabs Purses - Weaving fashion from tiny shiny things

Upcycling can happen with even the tiniest of items.  Today, Rita Wilson of Poptabs Purses shares her fairy tale of creativity and the magic of tossed things.

Poptabs Purses
Now you can keep tabs on your purse

          The Fairy Tale of a Pop tab

“Once upon a time, I kept a cold, refreshing beverage secure in a beautiful, shiny can. One fine day, you pulled me, clinked a hearty ‘prost!’ with your friends, and I was part of the celebration.”

Such is the story of the pop tab who led a fairy tale life… until of course, the can was empty.  Then the shiny pop tab was separated from its can and sent to the dark and frightening recycling center. 

“But one day, Poptab Purses came to the recycling center… and thanks to a crochet hook and sturdy nylon yarn, I am … a beautifully bedecked princess at a ball!”

This real life pop tab fairy tale, written by Rita Wilson, the talent behind Poptabs Purses, and her sister-in-law and editor Brandy Wilson, accompanies every Pop Tabs purse or item.

“Someday, I might go to the big recycling bin in the sky,” the pop tab says, “but having a second chance at life has been great for me, for the planet, and now for you”

It all began three years ago when Rita, who always loved being crafty, took up a friend’s suggestion to make things from pop tabs.

“I took the tabs and some fishing line from my husbands tackle box and made a purse,” Rita said. “I definitely fell in love with it!”

 Since then Rita has built a business making purses out of pop tabs, including a Facebook page with over 8,000 fans, and an Etsy store.  The intricate weaving of colorful nylon yarn and pop tabs is almost chain mail-like in nature, but with an edgy, feminine feel.  Recently her work has expanded to include runway-worthy clothing as well (check back for more photos or go to the Poptabs Facebook Page).

Whether making making purses, painting or knitting, after a busy night working at a hospital, crafts lift Rita’s spirits.  Not only that, but they represent creativity in life.

“[Crafting] is my own world where I can decide and work on my own terms.”

What’s more, what she does supports recycling and reusing.

“Pop tabs are out there whether I make beautiful things or not,” Rita said. “They are definitely a conversation starter and make people think about recycling.”

To learn more about Poptabs Purses and see more of Rita’s upcycled handiwork, check them out online at:
www.facebook.com/PoptabsPurses

www.etsy.com/shop/PoptabsPurses

This week's blogroll:

"Art or Garbage: What is Upcycling?"
"'Retrash': Finding Beauty in Lost Things"
"Using trash in artistic gardens"

Art or Garbage: What is Upcycling?

Upcycling is defined as: “to process (used goods or waste material) so as to produce something that is often better than the original.’”

Whether making use of old baby stuff (I once saw a crib-turned-kids desk that was amazing), or dumpster diving for unique items to turn into art, upcycling is becoming an incredibly popular way to not only reduce landfill, but to stretch creative wings and define oneself.

Nathan Devine, founder of Retrash, a website and book devoted to finding inspiring ways to sustainability remembers being excited about trash even as a kid.

“I remember going to the dump when I was a kid and being excited by what treasure I might find, and at the same time feeling saddened and confused by the amount of trash that was being thrown away,” he said.

In the garden, the studio, and at home, upcycling provides limitless sources of creativity.  No longer bound by traditional mediums, saving items from the trash gives intriguing or sentimental items a second life, while giving us a second chance to appreciate something we would otherwise have had to let go.

If nothing else recycled art is a way of living and looking at things.

As Rita Wilson of Poptabs said:  “Whether I make beautiful things or not, [my pieces] are definitely a conversation starter and make people think about recycling.”

This week we’ll see how Rita Wilson uses soda can pop tabs to create runway worthy purses and clothing, how Stacey Monks repurposed a piece of furniture in an unexpected way, and how Heather Bradley created a piece of art from reclaimed refuse.  Check back each day to see what these artists, and others, have to say about creating something new from something garbage.

This week's Blog Roll
"Retrash" - Finding beauty in Lost things
Poptabs Purses - Weaving Fashion from tiny shiny things
"Using trash in artistic gardens"