Trash Art Collage
This Trash Art Collage is the work of artist David Romaxx. The piece started out with a rounded steel remnant found on the street (and had four bored holes). A stencil of a sun was painted on the steel piece. The steel piece was mounted onto an old weathered wood cabinet door by a screw through one end of a rubber bushing (from a patio table). The open end of a sofa spring was affixed to the steel piece through the center side holes and bottom sofa spring was then looped through the ends of the top sofa spring leaving it loose to swing freely.
The steel piece was then anchored at the bottom with a bolt through the center of a pulley (from a garage door repair). Plastic little bottles (recycled medicine containers) were inserted through the rings of the sofa spring loops to symbolize the rays of the sun. A beautiful blue glass bottle was also inserted into one of the loops of the bottom sofa spring, which hangs loosely and moves when the wind blows. Natural movement is one of the artist’s favorite features in all of his trash art pieces.
It’s amazing what you can make from the smallest of trash items we tend to throw away.
Recycled Cardboard Plaster Reliefs
These small plaster reliefs started out from a cardboard and paper recycling project. I had saved several boxes from our favorite wheat crackers because they’re made of a very nice grade of cardboard that was sturdy yet flexible. I had fun thinking of different mediums I could try on these cardboard pieces and remembered a past project where I had used plaster on Styrofoam and wood. I wondered if I could try making a similar craft using these recycled cardboard pieces.
I decided to make a few little abstract dresses and other pieces. I took some newspapers we were recycling, tore some pages into medium sized pieces, crumpled and twisted them up into medium chunky pieces. I used several of the 4″ x 6″ cardboard pieces as the base for the dresses. I dabbed a little fabric glue onto the center areas and placed the bulky crumpled pieces of newspaper onto these dabs of glue so they could remain stationary for the next step. I decided to use a wall repair plaster that is pink and soft (like frosting) in it’s original form, but hardens and dries white in color. Once the chunky paper dried on the glue, I used a plastic knife to spread the plaster over the paper and smoothed it over the chunky paper.
It takes a little while to get used to this medium, but its easier to work with if you let the first layer dry overnight. It is then easier to work the plaster, shape it into a simple dress form and smooth out uneven areas. Once the entire piece was thoroughly dry, I painted it with gesso and let that thoroughly dry. I then painted the dress using yellow and orange acrylic craft paints. Once the paint dried, I spread plaster mixture onto the background to give it texture as well. When the background dried, I repeated with gesso and painted it a light green.
When I made the second dress (pink polka-dot dress), I made sure to use plaster mixture on the background after the dress form dried (something I didn’t do with the first yellow and orange polka-dot dress). After the second dress dried, I painted the entire piece with gesso and let it dry. I next painted the dress, and then painted the background. I painted the polka-dots on each of the dresses after their base solid colors were completely dry.
And again, although I had fun making these abstract pieces you see here (dresses, fruit, and flowers) don’t be afraid to try your hand at anything theme you like. Just have fun creating your own pieces of art.
Lawnmower Wheel Decor
This piece was made from three wheels from an old lawnmower and a old decorative plate holder. It adds color and charm to the yard. This time around we could only reclaim a few items from this old lawn mower.
Reclaimed Plastic Frame Art
About ten years ago, we bought about eight plastic frames at a local surplus science store. These hard plastic frames were perfect in size to hold a 5″ x 7″ picture or other projects that I could use them in when crafting. We used some of them to hold some family pictures and had some left for crafting. This Project started from a CD we had purchased of vintage Victorian labels that we could print out for various craft projects.
We painted the frames in three different colors, black, cream and gray with a crackle finish. The two featured here were crackled with a kit from a craft store. I printed out a few labels that I really loved. But since they are from a vintage collection the colors were very faded, so I decided to paint in some of the highlights in the prints to brighten the colors and enhance the overall look. I used craft acrylic paints and the results were amazing on the first one, so I decided to enhance the second one the same way. After the prints were dry, I used Mod Podge on them to protect and preserve the colors. I used the gloss Mod Podge to give the pieces a more vibrant look.
I had some pieces of museum art boards (sturdy cardboard) that I had bought in a frame shop. The shop would sell their leftover art board remnants in many shapes and sizes in plastic bags. I decided to glue these prints onto the museum art boards by using Mod Podge on the backside of these prints, but you can use any kind of sturdy cardboard that you may have handy.
Although we used this type of frame and medium for this project, there are so many fun prints you can use. Just have fun and create your own.
Recycled Hubcap Clock
This hubcap clock was made from an old auto hubcap we found. We tend to save items that we feel could be put to good use. The hubcap was such an artistic piece because of its interesting details, beautiful shape, neutral color, and plastic composition, which made it easy to drill through. Once we bought the clock kit, this was a fun and fast project to make. Clock kits are available at most craft stores and online for very little money. The instructions were easy to follow and with the aid of some basic tools, the whole project was completed in a few hours.
Although we used an auto hubcap for this project, one can use a piece of wood or any object that you can drill through, or make a hole through to accommodate the clock mechanism stem that holds the clock hands. Look around for items that interest you and you may find that they can be recycled into a functioning piece of art such as this one. This is also a fun project to do with kids, letting them create their own working piece of art for their rooms. Like always, just have fun.