Mixed-media artists are a tribe of collectors, always picking up shiny (or grungy) odds and ends that might become useful someday. But what once was seen by others as an odd obsession is now a talent we can call creative upcycling, turning trash into recycled art.
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In this free eBook, Upcycled Art: 4 Free Tutorials on Upcycling Ideas and Creating Recycled Art, we offer you recycled art projects that help you winnow down your collection of found objects—and make room for new ones!
In A Most Original Name Tag, Laura Ryan shows how to upcycle khaki or denim overalls into a work of art that shouts to all the world, "I am an artist!" wherever you wear it. You'll be looking at all your old clothing for its upcycling potential.
Recycled art is all about using familiar things in different, unexpected ways. Inspired by Alisa Burke's upcycling ideas for fusing and stitching plastic bags and junk mail into fabric, Cathleen 'CB' Bradley started collecting her own colorful plastic bags.
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| Laura Ryan upcycles old jeans into an artsty 'nametag.' |
Cathleen collages and stitches the plastic, upcycling it into belts, banners, slipcovers, and more. Check out her process in From Plastic Bag to Fused-Plastic Fabric: Create Colorful Collaged & Stitched Designs.
Flea markets and yard sales often provide fodder for recycled art. Ivy Demos takes glass dishes, metal buttons, hardware, and stained glass remnants and turns them into Mixed-Media Glass Flower assemblages. She gives step-by-step directions on how to use adhesives and work safely with the glass to make your green art creations.
In Raw Beauty, Make RecyclaBabes to Protect the Planet, Melanie Testa fashions eco-friendly art dolls out of bits of "trash" she's collected over the years. A little wire wrapping and sewing here, a little imagination there, and you have whimsical recycled art that seems to dance in the air.
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| Recycled art glass assemblage by Ivy Demos. |
Upcycled Art: 4 Free Tutorials on Upcycling Ideas and Creating Recycled Art will have you looking at your "trash" in new ways, giving you a free source of art materials. Download your copy of Upcycled Art: 4 Free Tutorials on Upcycling Ideas and Creating Recycled Art now.
P.S. Do you have friends who like to create art with found objects and recyclables? Forward this link to them so they can download their own copy of Upcycled Art: 4 Free Tutorials on Upcycling Ideas and Creating Recycled Art.