Category: Artists & Designers

Pixelator is an on-going video art performance collaboration in New York City by Jason Effink.

Fusion Wayang Kulit is an award-winning team working hard to revive the beautiful Malaysian art of wayang kulit (shadow puppet) by fusing the traditional with pop culture and sci-fi elements.

Paintbrushes sculpted with paper clay by Karen Lilly from North Forest Studio.

pcycled tie necklaces with DIY tutorial by Aletha Israels from Artstar.

Ronnie Ryno’s tie designs include Prom and Wedding dresses, ballgowns, cocktail/party dresses, corsets, skirts, halters, vests, totes and belts.

Instructions by Jane Mencsh-Mutshnik in volume 11 (UK version) of The Family Creative Workshop (1975).

The original Weather Tree designed by Dorothy Thelwall (1983) with a description of its inspiration from a story from China.

A simple nad sweet design. Michael Fulkerson designed and created the birds and mobile for the Spool Sewing website.

Lindsay Weirich demonstrates heating a strip of plastic bottle to form a bead.

Recycled craft projects by Kathy Ciceri.

Instructions by Fatima.

Project symbolising how the temperature is spiraling out of control. By Juby Aleyas Koll from Sarah’s Hand Embroidery.

So many possibliities with a simple shape. Page from the site Woolly Thoughts by Mathekniticians Pat Ashforth and Steve Plummer,

Anne Sayre Wiseman describes how she came to learn the term ‘body logic’. From ‘The Best of Making Things’ (2005).

Handout from a snapology workshop by Faye Goldman to learn the basic technique and use it to make an icosahedron.

Every culture, from the beginning of time, has practised reuse. A talk by Garth Johnson.

“We Make Carpets” is a Dutch collective that transforms everyday objects into beautiful carpets for art installations.

TeTra-Trik has designed a range of products using tetrapak waste, from clocks to rotating lamps to toothbrush holders.

Etla lamps made of recycled tetrapak by Chimi Gutierrez, Hierbamala, Mexico. They are assembled using a type of origami without glue, in the Tepepán prison. All materials and processes are local.

Tetralamp by Ed Chew. No glue!

The work of Heinz Strobl. I Snapology, strips are folded into polygonal prisms (the units or modules) that are joined using a second set of strips that snap them together, creating geometric forms.

A series of lights from used food and drink packaging by Anke Weiss who traced the patterns and text on the packaging with hundreds of pin-pricks, which allow the light to shine through.

Kits of pushpins that can bring every bottle cork to life. Designed by Reddish Studio, Israel, sold by Monkey Business, USA.

Corks glued over wooden base by Aaron Kramer.

Tawny Reynollds from Sundrop Jewelry sun-melts glass jewelry by melting recycled bottles and stained glass into elegant droplets using a giant magnifying glass.

Robots by Juan Cabrera Sánchez from Planeta Tapon

Bo-tito comes assembled and as a kit. The pieces are connected to each other by an elastic multifilament cord for textile use. They Also don’t carry weapons. The average life of it is 400 years, which takes plastic to degrade.

Garden furniture made with made with plastic caps by Isa Digue.

Columns made from recycled plastic cartons and lids by Mary Ellen Croteau.

“Close” is a huge self portrait made from plastic caps. On her website, she says, “I noticed the smaller caps tended to nest inside one another, and the color combinations reminded me of… painted portraits.” Her self-portrait contains more than 7,000 plastic caps. She also gives her method of how to make a bottle cap mural.

Michelle Stitzlein has written two books of projects made from plastic caps. If you are a teacher who wants to try plastic caps in your classroom, she has all the tips on how to do that.

Gallery of found object sculptures created by Michelle Stitzlein. Inspired by proteas, common house plants and succulents.

Large scale lichens from found objects by Michelle Stitzlein.

Creative reuse inspired nature by Michelle Stitzlein. Inspired by “myriad varieties of beautiful, exotic moths in my own backyard.”

Darcy Turner offers two cool tools – a fork to make paper sticks for sculpture, and a rack to make cutting tape quick and easy.

A student project at SCRAP Humboldt to find a way to add value to carpet samples. Features 3D printing.
I was also interested in looking at the criteria used to define the project.

Some excerpts from Lois Walpole’s blog about Basketry.

WOW – these look such fun!
Spinners, shakers, crashers from collected bottle cap plastics by Alex Lockwood

Amazing folded flowers made from folded used lottery tickets that Alexlockwood finds on the ground in his hometown of Brooklyn, New York.

Love these vases – such variety. I can’t find anything else about Susanne Schmit from Dusseldorf on the internet.
Blog post by Todd Hosfelt

So lovely and bright – Plastics Crochet Artist Magda van der Vloed

PDF by Editors: Oleg Koefoed & Stine Avlund, Cultura21
“A guide to becoming an artcycler: a maker of beautiful things that keep the world healthy”

The beginning of this publication reads: “This version is intended for internal non-commercial and educational use
only, by the involved partners. Not to be distributed to third parties.” But they have made it available to the general public nonetheless.

By Michelle Brand
Bottle bases linked together with garment ties to create window screens and lighting.

A couple of examples of a ‘planar net’ using windmill loop. Much of Alison’s work utilises hexagonal mesh structures and complex mathmatical forms. I was interested in her background of weaving with bamboo.

by Verena Stella Gompf and Cordula Kehrer
I this would look great if used as a repair method instead of artistic statement – it would give added value and meaning.

by Fernando and Humberto
Though I expect these were made from new, the idea of repairing commonplace plastic chairs in this way appeals.

by Lois Walpole
Ropes are separated to obtain nylon filaments which are the core of braided ropes. The balls are made by stitching and rolling.

Instructions by Lois Walpole for a plaited garland that packs into a neat, solid tube that takes up little space. Can also be made from palm leaves, coloured paper, plastics, bark, leather and more.

Lois talks about using cardboard, how she gave up using paint in her work and the availability of coloured boxes.

by Lois Walpole
The paper strips are each wrapped with polythene before plaiting, , the strap is from an old camera and the button is a key from a defunct laptop.

I love this log basket made from cardboard beer carriers. Lois describes how she came to make design decisions.

Lois outlines how she made a fire screen with aluminium can ‘fireworks’.

The apple basket was the first recycled tetra pak I ever saw and it made a big impression on me. Lois talks about working with tetra pak – part of a larger post about teaching students.

Lois Walpole writes about woven cradles and coffins. Abridged.

Bold bottle base spheres by Miriam Mitsuko Utsumi.

An overview of a view different methods of working with PET to make jewellery and more.

Bag designs by Miriam Mitsuko Utsumi. The simple shapes are very striking.

Delicate flowers and wreaths made from PET bottles by Brazilian designer Miriam Mitsuko Utsumi.

Beautiful sketches by Malena Skote illustrating the basics of Windmill Loop weave. The title refers to an architectural or industrial design concept that means “the shape of a building or object should primarily relate to its intended function or purpose”.

Miriam Mitsuko Utsumi uses sandpaper to achieve a frosted finish on PET bottle vases.

Instructions to make a box from PET bottle plastic by Miriam Mitsuko Utsumi. Includes photos of her other related woven designs for folding screen, chair, folder and more.

Comments on a discussion – Soda Bottles Used As Heat-Shrink For Wood Joinery by Dan Maloney

Experiments with thermoforming plastic bottles to join wood to make a chair.
Project – Bottle it – by Charlène Guillaume

Clever anti-littering ads by Live Green Toronto.

A global story for a reuse product that incorporates traditional artisan weaving skills. Founded by the designer Alvaro Catalán de Ocón
Sponsored in Colombia by Coca-Cola.

Great interview with Ernesto Oroza. ” I’m interested in these recurrences, patterns and individuals who find similar solutions in different places, seemingly under different economic and ideological forces.”

Experiments in design aimed to solve a basic need: to drink. No not 1000 here, I picked out a few of my favourites.
Ernesto Oroza

Cool structure made from 450 discarded umbrellas, New York.
by slo architecture

Beautiful and powerful. French-Canadian papercut artist Myriam Dion.
These images are from 2013 as I prefer her earlier work.

I simply love the rich colours and patterns in these rugs. I see how the shapes of the fabric lend themselves to being placed symmetrically.

“Make a feature out of a defect”. Love the Woolfiller idea – A repairing fibre that provides a new solution to an old problem. I particularly like the video showing repairs to interior of an old cadillac – and the comment about nostalgia being a misplaced desire for the past.

Invisible mend for elbows that are wearing thin. Real wool.
By Heleen Klopper, Woolfiller.

Instructions – How to mend a large hole using a piece of old jumper as reinforcement.
By Heleen Klopper, Woolfiller.

Is this the future for sustainable clothing and textiles?
By Heleen Klopper, Made to Mend.

The Gansey Jumper – great design and interesting history.
From Heleen Klopper, Made to mend.

Fix holes in your favourite jumper with felted wool.
By Heleen Klopper, Woolfiller.

Fix a woollen sock by needlefelting.
Tutorial by Heleen Klopper, Woolfiller.

These characterful masks made from toilet roll tubes are a lot of fun. Coloured with natural pigments.
Parisian paper sculptor, Junior Fritz Jacquet.

Paper mache artist, Liat Binyamini Ariel, from Israel. Talented illustrator and puppet maker. I especially admire the Love Seat made from paper mache.

Baskets and Bags made out of Juice and Milk packaging – recycling, handicraft and basket making in Sweden by Konstantin Larsson.