Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Does a bear

I'm starting today with some staggering facts I found
on a blog called Dust Box Cleaning.  I took a screen capture so you could see the blog address.  From the looks of these stats, I'm as guilty as the next person, because I use the plastic bags I get when I shop to line my trash cans and the boys' litter clean-up container.  Not sure how else to deal with my trash, though, since I wouldn't want to put the waste directly in the trash container.  At least I don't buy plastic trash can liners like some people I know.  Any thoughts on this are greatly appreciated.

But now let's put some of that trash to an artful use.

So far this month, I've made very little collage and mixed media art.  I really miss it, so today I'm making a collage from various repurposed materials.  The background is one I created during my 30 paintings in 30 days, then cut it down for this collage.  I added oil (not baby oil) to the two book pages, as well as the parchment paper to give them a gossamer look.  That only worked until the pages dried and then I lost much of the transparent nature of the oil.  The parchment paper only laughed at me and repelled the oil.

The sheet music is vintage, but it looks white up against the rest of the papers.  The gold circle was part of a see-through bag I was given.  I cut the circle out and threw the rest in the recycle bin.  The flowers and bear are wallpaper cut-outs, and the words were generated on my computer, printed, and colored with a watercolor pen.

Today is Day 15 of 22 and I created a mixed media collage from scraps.   I plan to give this collage to my friend Sally.  Thanks as always for your continued support of this annual 22 day project.  Your thoughts and comments keep me going, even though there are times I wonder if I'll make it through to the end.

14 thoughtful remarks:

massofhair said...

Fabulous page Elizabeth, love how you have used up all your scraps. Love the info-graphic very much. I try to recycle as much as possible but it is hard to recycle everything. We can only do as much as we can.

There is a technique where you can iron plastic bags and make plarn or other smaller plastic bags. Hope the link is useful for you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zZw7yrI22M

Mo :-) xxx

voodoo vixen said...

Do you still get plastic bags given to you when you shop in the States? Most countries I have lived in stopped doing that some time ago to encourage people to bring their own bags to the store they now charge for each bag... it works! I have good quality material bags and cooler bags that I take the supermarket and use... and yes, the downside is that I now have to buy trash bags and litter baggies but they are the sort that break down and disintegrate after time.

froebelsternchen said...

I always take my fabric shopping bags with me when I am shopping with my daughter .. so we don't get to much of this plastic bags. and when I get the I use them like you for my trash. I also use mini plastic bags for my trash. I think our earth will be happy whe the human beings will be extinct . We are for sure the worst stuff with which she was confronted yet.

Great page Elizabeth... don't worry when you don't make it through the end...
it's too hard I think!

TwinkleToes2day said...

In Scotland we get charged for plastic bags so we have take our own cloth bags, but I have done that for many years. I don't like plastic bags but do biodegradable ones for bin liners. The statistics on the snapshot are quite staggering. 'Only 1.6 million people are active in the recycling industry worldwide'?! And how many billions of people are there?!
I agree with Susis 'our earth will be happy when the human beings will be extinct'
Thank you for sharing the information and asking our opinions on the subject. I think your collage is fabulous and admire your tenacity in continuing with your project. :o))

ps - thank you for your comments on my holiday posts. How right you are, it is the second bus cafe we've been on! And of course hope it's not the last ;) It was a wonderful time.
I think Wee Man is still riding on a high and finding it difficult to settle, but I'm sure that will come as daily routine takes over.
Enjoy the rest of your week Elizabeth {{Hugs}}

johanna said...

as far as i know we will have a fee for plastic bags soon here in Germany - and i think that is right so! i have a lot of fabric totes, which i normally use for Shopping. i´m sure you do your best, don´t be too strong with you!
great recyling-collage... i really like the outcome!

Krisha said...

There are areas in CA that do charge you for a plastic bag, but it isn't everywhere...yet. I use the fabric shopping bags, they don't tare, or split with heavy items and I can get more in them.

Great recycled art, had to chuckle at the vellum issue.

fairyrocks said...

Quite an eye opener, thanks for sharing. I find that more and more of the plastic bags are degradable. Maybe that is the answer all the way around. I too prefer the sturdier cloth bags. We try to compost our kat litter. the main component in most litter is clay, so it will break down over time. We are lucky to have a yard big enough to do that.

pearshapedcrafting said...

I always take a zipped fabric shopping bag (free from a Paris 'grand magasin' years ago - I had several but now only two leftI) so often refuse smaller bags for purchases and have them loose in my bag (non-food of course) We usually take big long life bags to the supermarket - unless I need plastic bags for wrapping smelly waste in, although I always request a plastic bag for meat even if it is in a pack as I once had a leak all over my fruit and veg - YUK!! We do buy the sort of bags that disintegrate easily as we have a biggish indoor bin - the communal bin is quite a trek away! I love your bear collage. Great idea using wallpaper - the second time I've seen it being used today! I still have some from when we moved in and couldn't decide whether to paper or paint!
Hugs, Chrisx
ps May be MIA for a few days!! Have great weekend! Sorry for rambling!!!

Rita said...

I have to have my groceries delivered and they use plastic bags but I can save them and send them with next time because they have a recycle bin for bags at the store. Whenever Leah and I go shopping we use cloth bags that we bring. I know there are many more little things I could be doing. I keep trying to have a smaller footprint, but the one thing I am guilty of (and always will be) is using more than my share of paper with all the journals and letters that I write. I do recycle junk mail, leftover embroidery threads, etc, when I do make my own handmade paper, though. I keep trying to be aware. :)

Dianne said...

dear E...love this collage!...sad figures about the recycling though. I'm with you...don't know how to recycle those plastic bags except for trash holders. I've often thought that manufacturers use way too much plastic and paper packaging...only to be thrown away.I would buy stuff from a 'bulk bin' if there was one. NOTE on my Fake Journal blog: yes, the wording and statements in my journal & on the blog are in the voice of my character (unless I specifically post a Note from me) glad you're enjoying it--thanks so much for all your comments!

Darla said...

Fun collage and something recycled. If you don't bring your own bags, you must pay for paper bags at the grocery stores here (plastic not available). Plastic bags are banned at all our stores, some non grocery stores charge for their paper bags, some don't. I'm just in the habit of taking my fabric bags everywhere. Like others mention, we use biodegradables if we have to for some trash.

Darla

Jane Wetzel said...

great post and great art...when my daughter was in college her friend's mother was using the plastic bags to knit handbags/purses and they were awesome. i do hope they ban them soon- :)

Halle said...

Those statistics are really staggering. At least we try to do our part. I get plastic bags for litter box cleaning too. Most times I use my reusable bags at the grocery store but somethings just need to be in plastic...such as meats...don't want that leaking all over the vehicle.

Craftymoose Crafts said...

Like you, we use the plastic grocery bags to bag our trash. There has been a lot of talk about charging for them, but nothing definite yet. It seems like the quality/thickness of the plastic bags has gone done (cost saving?) which in opinion exacerbates the situation. They don't hold up and are often torn by the time you get home. Most people just throw those away.