Thursday, November 19, 2015

Recycling old art


I'd like to thank those who visited yesterday.  I feel so much better today and am ready to meet this November challenge head on.  What do you do with leftover art?  For Day 20, I recycled two pieces of art and turned them into gifts.

This one is left over from a challenge at Moo-Mania and More, where the theme was swirls.  You can read about how I made it here.

I was tired of moving art I had created around, not knowing what to do with it.  Then the light bulb came on and I knew I could change the focal image into something I could be proud to give someone.  I started with a book cover that I painted black and gray.  I hit the high spots of the corrugated cardboard with acrylic paints I took from the focal image colors.

It's ironic that I normally have more sewn quiltlets during AEDM, but this year, my focus seems to be on these book covers and how I can decorate them.

In my opinion, you can NEVER go wrong with flowers, so I added these to the page.   I'm entering it into Moo-Mania and More's latest challenge, which is Lots of Layers.  I'm also calling this one giftable!

I created this collage from recycled materials during my 22 days of April recycling this year.  You can read how I made it and the materials I used here. To further recycle this piece

which was already larger than the smaller book covers I've been working on, I painted the largest book cover I could find in black and streaks of white.

These silk flowers were chosen

to compliment the paper ones I originally fussy cut for the collage.  I included a genuine eucalyptus leaf and added a bit of eucalyptus essential oil to the flowers.  Now more than one sense could be stimulated for this giftable item.

And finally,

I started a third book cover using recycled art, although it looks nothing like the piece I created during 30 paintings in 30 days.  I had been gifted this translucent paper and was pleased when the background showed through.

This is what it looked like before I cut it into a smaller size and backed it with a page from a telephone book I painted using an acrylic craft paint called Lemondrop.

Today is Day 20 of Art Every Day Month or AEDM and I turned two collages I created earlier that I added flowers and backed with book covers into giftable art.  These I'm also entering into Moo-Mania and More's latest challenge, Lots of Layers.  Be sure to check out Moo-Mania and More for more layering inspiration.  I also started a third book cover, but it may not be finished in time to share during the month of November.

I appreciate your support of my art, and your kind comments, which made it easy for me to get back on my feet quickly.


15 thoughtful remarks:

Valerie-Jael said...

What a lot of beautiful art today. Thanks or linking the first piece to Moo Mania and More, too. It's a good idea to recycle art, I do this a lot, too. The collage with the bear is fantastic, you put some lovely pieces together there. And the painting is very dreamy, love the colours. Hope you are feeling better Sweetie, hugs, Valerie

Viktoria Berg said...

I am glad you feel better. Sometimes we just need a day in bed, I think with all the computers and activities all day and night, we ruin our natural resting patterns. I am really fond of your bear collage!

sheila 77 said...

This is a great way to recycle art. The first one looks really good on the decorated corrugated cardboard and of course I like the bear too.

Maron said...

You are very good at what you do...recycled or not!! Lovely!

froebelsternchen said...

I love both pieces Elzabeth! Great what you made ! That's what a good artist may do... take her/his art to a new level.... Thank you very much for joining us at Moo Mania & More with a kind of a double entry..lol.. super! Glad to hear that you feel better again! Keep care!
Happy weekend... just rain here today and we had storms during the night.
And winterly weather is forecasted as well....

SCarol said...

Wonderful bit of recycyling. Definitely you can never go wrong with flowers. Glad you are feeling better.

Divers and Sundry said...

I'm glad you're feeling better :) I've often wondered what folks do with the results of all these challenges. I like this idea.

Krisha said...

Rest is always the best medicine, and I'm glad it helped you get back on your feet.

Great art today, and yes there are times I recycle my own art. Sometimes for the good and sometimes..........well sometimes for the recycled trash....LOL Yours all turned out fantastic, and yes flowers seem to make everybody happier.

Nigel said...

Glad to hear you're feeling better.

Really like your covers, but the colours in the those last 2 pictures are fantastic :)

Meggymay said...

Beautiful art projects today, flowers do add something special to a piece and I love the idea of adding some oils, the aroma will be an unexpected pleasure. Glad you are feeling better today.
Yvonne xx

TwinkleToes2day said...

Delighted to hear you are feeling better Elizabeth. Your 'giftable items' are a delight to see and the recipients will be overjoyed at your generosity I have no doubt.
Wishing you a happy healthy weekend :D

pearshapedcrafting said...

Aah Elizabeth! You have excelled yourself today! So glad you are feeling better! I love the vintage look of your first two covers and I'm sure that the beautiful pinks you used for the other cover must have cheered you up! If this goes into your comments list it will be 3rd time lucky! Have a great weekend and look after yourself! Chrisx

Carol said...

Glad to see that you are feeling better and more productive today. Love your recycled art ;) I need to go through my stacks and see what I can recycle into something better and " giftable " too ♥♥♥♥ Love that word :)

Anonymous said...

Love these. Did you use the flowers you dyed? Looks like it. Most clever Elizabeth. xox

NatureFootstep said...

cool and beautiful things you create. Love the way you put things together :)
Glad you are feeling better :)