Today is Earth Day. Now what does it mean to us? Well, it is just a reminder to us that we need to appreciate our Earth, the place we live in. What's the best way to show appreciation of our planet? There are many ways to do it but I guess using recycled materials has got to be a good idea. Thankfully for Silver Clay Artisans that's easy :)
Art Clay & Precious Metal Clay (PMC) are recycled products which reclaim a variety of different metals. The silver for Art Clay comes from sources such as film stock and negatives so you could be wearing a little piece of Marilyn Monroe's big screen debut!ACS is 100% recycled, and PMC has a high percentage of recycled material too. Even the organic binder that burns away has very little impact on the environmnet, which is great news because "green" and "recycled" are not only beneficial to the planet but they're also Hot Selling benefits too!
It can't have escaped your attention that "altered art" and "found item" jewellery is very popular on selling sites such as Etsy and Artfire, it's also fun to make and low cost in terms of components.
When you re-use, re-purpose and generally recycle old buttons, fabric scraps, twigs and ephemera the results can be stunning PLUS you are definitely living a more sustainable lifestyle.
Here are a few of my favourite pieces by other mixed media artists....
Opie and Linda O'Brian are mixed-media artists, authors and teachers, who enjoy pushing the envelope in myriad ways, using organic, recycled and found materials because they seem to have a voice that must be heard, a story that must be told, and a life that would otherwise be too soon forgotten. They consider themselves "caretakers of the mundane and the ordinary" and their unique offerings include jewelry, dada dolls & recyclabots, assemblage, books, collage, masks, music and more! 
Jenny Crossley is another mixed media artist (from Australia) she works with paper, metal and other ephemera I just adore the way she uses old photos in her work. I wonder who those folks were....
Would you like to give mixed media work a try? Then here are a few books that might help :)
"Semiprecious Salvage" by Stephanie Lee"Making Connections" by Susan Lenart Kazmer
& "Altered Art Circus" Lisa Kettell
Happy Making!
Nic xx
Wonderful mixed media work! I love that aspect of mixed media, that you can create something brand new and lovely from something that might otherwise just get thrown away. I also like that "used" things have their own individual history - I think that definitely adds to a piece!
ReplyDelete