Causecast

Check out Causecast’s United We Serve page for more summer Do-It-Yourself service projects!

Who’s to say what is and is not art? Who’s to say what is and is not trash? Refuse is a workable material, previously used by sculptors/artists. Not only are you recycling, but the different pieces you find inspire creative ways to fit them together. You can string together fashionable bracelets and necklaces with bottle caps or make handy containers out of old bottles, cans, boxes, whatever you can find. If you feel you’re a natural, look at these inspired pieces of trash.

•Find your materials. The recycling bin is a great place to start. Paper, plastic, metals and wood are good basic materials that most artists might use anyway. If you recycle properly, these should be the cleanest materials too, as they’re out of the way of the rotting food and mystery liquids that make the trash nasty. Do not be afraid to look outside your own receptacles. Other people’s trash is one of the only things you can take from them without having to ask.

•Clean your raw materials before taking to the studio. Trash bins are usually dirty places. For your health and comfort it is important to wash everything before you use it (and I might recommend rubber gloves for the search itself). Rinse and sink in warm water with anti-bacterial soap to get at the grime shampoo or bar soap can’t kill.

•Pick your project. Once you have your sterilized materials, you’re ready to start. As the artist, what happens next is up to you. Get some friends together and have a show for the neighborhood. People will get a kick out of seeing what you did with what they didn’t want.

Here are a few easy ideas:
-Decorate old glass bottles to use as vases around the house
-Old soda cans can make for alternative looking plant pots
-Build dollhouses from old boxes, magazines, and packaging materials
-Use old magazine and newspaper scraps to make a collage

•Put it on display. Let your neighborhood and community know what you’re doing. Show your works off to your friends when they come over. Even if other people aren’t inspired to reuse their rubbish for art, it may get them thinking environmentally.

•Keep it up. You’ll be surprised at the new ideas you come up with each time you set out for the trash bins.

Photo by hoyasmeg, flickr