In other cases, I have cut larger work into smaller pieces and then added additional elements. That approach can be seen in the following piece which, along with another new piece made from the same original artwork, is available for purchase in Etsy.
And I am curious how many other people recycle their own art. Feel free to leave a comment sharing your recycling stories.
Earth Works
Ingredients: watercolor paper, book board, acrylic paint, wax pastels, dry transfer, gel marker. approximately 6 1/4" x 6 1/4". click to enlarge.
Available for purchase in The Altered Page on Etsy.
Sold. Thank You!
34 comments:
LOL. I'm recycling from the get-go!
very cool! mostly what i recycle is images from my photos. i have several that i have used over & over in different pieces in different ways. of actual art, not so much, b/c a lot of my older work is oil on canvas... but i may start cutting things up & re-using- thanks for making me think.
I am in awe every time I look at your work...who knew texture could be so exciting! I am no longer happy just working with the design on the fabric - I have to do more! I tend to save everything, because you just never know...and I have a blogger friend that I send left-overs to, as she creates some really interesting things with them
Great work!
shhshhs do not tell anyone this... we do it all the time, but no one knows this .... shhshh!
This idea is VERY appealing to me. I of course use mostly recycled fabrics, embellishments, etc in my work. I don't have a large enough collection as yet of my own to start cutting, but I can sure see doing so when the time comes that I do. It appeals to me as a fun way to make something new out of something not so new and give it new life. I Like it! I'll do it.
Not right now, but sooner or later!
;-) It would have been fun to see what you started with here to understand from whence it came.
Yes to recycling my art. I often take a picture of a piece and then use that picture in a new piece. Many times if I like a piece but know it isn't done yet (I'm about to paint over it or layer over it) I will grab my camera and take a few shots of it so I can use it as a texture digitally or print it out and use it for layers on another piece.
Ha - I do that all the time, Seth! For certain, I'm sure every mixed media artist does it, lol. Even when I do my painting I paint over it, recycle the canvas, etc.
Some of my best work has come from taking an original work of mine, ripping it back, sticking it down, texturising it, ripping it back again, etc..until I'm happy.
The ATCs I've been "developing" have often been ripped back about a dozen times until I'm happy. It really is a process in itself!
Caterina is right...shhhh...it is a secret because it brings about the best results!
I am a a huge recycle-fiend! I have been on such a learning adventure in art and as I learn and improve, I take older pieces and use them to add to my work. I am realizing how important layering is and as I grow, using those older pieces as parts of my layering is awesome!
Peace & Love,
~Barb~
great colors for these pieces
i do recycle actually...
I am always recycling my art.
I took all the cut offs from knitting and all the left-overs from spinning and make a new yarn of it. I have pillows that are made completely out of the left-overs from other knitting objects and they are stuffed with left-overs from felted things.
There is nothing left from my work with fibers, which makes this a true eco-art.
If you want to see the process, here we go:
http://allerhandlei.blog.de/2009/03/10/treppchens-spinnereien-5732199/
(Sorry it's in German, but the pics show everything)
lovely looking "crop" art is a work in progress I am always doing this!
I often cannibalize old work and up-cycle, too. There is a satisfaction in starting a new direction with your own orphans instead of adoptions. You have a great blog! -Jayne
"Earth Works" works for me! Nice abstracted quality.
My most recent post on my blog is about reworking art pieces. I have done this for ages to finish or refresh "old" work & am often surprised at how much better I can see what needs to happen after letting it go for a spell. Sometimes it is just as important to deconstruct as to construct; it renews creative energy.
Oh, Seth, I always like to include something from a previous older work that I no longer like, into my current work.
It's a good thing. :)Bea
When I find myself not showing a piece because it just doesn't feel like me, it's time to recycle. I do it all the time.
The tough part about working with clay is that it's difficult to recycle a piece once you've glazed it. The surface is essentially glass then and there's not much you can do if you don't like it. Except have the guts to throw it away. And once you've fired it, if the design isn't right, there's no way glaze can fix it. As in "you can't put lipstick on a pig."
recycle my art? only ALL THE TIME. many of the things posted on my blog no longer exist because i have since cut or torn them apart to make something new.
Another great art-piece !!!
I just posted the 'DisCo' revealed on my blog. Thank you for this fun idea and inspire so much in the process.
Last night I lost my connection and I am not totally sure I understand how or why this happened. I spend almost every Wednesday on a personal quest to collect and select old vintage fibers, boos, hymnals and hand made "anonymous" women's work objects to employ in my exhibit nest May. I have a very difficult time throwing bits and pieces away because as soon as I start my mind reminds me that I could use the materials in a new and creative application. You have persuaded me to incorporate disintegrated rusty found objects in my layering process. Thank you! Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart
I have made it to the second jury process for my creation quilt in the FAVA exhibit in 2010. Wish me luck!
Hi Seth
Sorry I haven't visited for a short while ... I've been having a little blog break of sorts
I love to recycle my old art work. Ocasionally, I really enjoy cutting up my work into smaller pieces and re-assembling them into bigger pieces or make art cards with the small pieces. Sometimes, I also revisit sketchbook pages that "jar" after a while. If there is a page in my book that I skip past too quickly then it needs something doing with it!
Love your blog and your insights Seth!
Bye for now
Carolyn
x
Oh yes recycling is a must. Even my totems are recycled. Well, my early apparitions got the chop but maybe not many these days. Chopping off chunks of wood and nailing bits from this one to that.
Are you kidding ??? I am the queen of recycle. Can't leave well enough alone.
Love your pieces.
Teehee... I'm sure we all do that!
Have a blast, Gaby :)
Very appealing concept! Recycling is fun.
Great work!!!
Great work as always Seth!!I recycle only when I'm not satisfied or really hate something I've done. I once recycled a large canvas 5 times before I decided, this was a bad luck canvas :>)
I live in the World of Recycled Material.
.....oh, but Art that I'm Over?
HELLO RECYCLE BIN
(queue the sound of a metallic can lid closing with a "CLANG")
Hi Seth,
I am way into recycling my own work. Maybe it's the art teacher in me (I've heard students tell another "Wait! don't throw that away- she'll go ballistic!")LOL
I've written about my recycling habit and how it started here: http://sharmond.blogspot.com/2009/08/transformation-36.html. (sorry, I don't know how to do a link on these comment things.) Anyway, happy recycling; it works for me!
one of those that should be sat with, looked into, contemplated...
Seth,
If I have made something, if my brush or glue stick has touched a surface then I simply can't throw it out. I have drawers and cigar boxes full of half done bits of painted papers, collages and other things that were not working at one point, when I work on a new piece I always shuffle though those piles for things that will work. I usually find something that will work. I guess that is recycling.
i recycle my art often! today, actually, i found a piece i started over the summer and could never finish and am recreating it into something much more fun. a couple of months ago i found 5 wood paintings and 7 canvasses in a box from a couple of old shows that i never really liked and i have them in my recycle pile (i guess the mere act of having an art recycle pile says something itself!). it's always so much fun to give something new life.
I have a couple of approaches that seem to have evolved. I will sometimes look at old work and go in and "revise" or add or change it. I see some new potential in it or something calling out to be altered. So the old becomes new.
And I have been known to turf things done on matte board or paper. But mostly I'm just to cheap to throw a canvas out! I try to rework it or as last resort gesso it and start again.
I never recycle my own art... even though some earlier pieces aren't that good, I do heart them all too much... but I'm loosening up lately so maybe I'll come to recycling one day... taking babysteps here!
Seth, A few months ago I used one of the numerous lithographs I made while an art student to create a small box book and I have used many of my prints since. Many of my student works had skeletal remains and themes of recycling, not stuff of wall decor but great for recycling. My latest project is sculptural, a cement chair in which I recycled a broken plastic chair.
Love the piece you created, especially your use of such vibrant colours.
I do this too....sounds like a future blog collab/call out/reveal like Dis-Co to me! :)
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