Recycled Altered Glass

Saturday, April 26th, 2008 by Alyice

As Earth Day approached this year I was pleased to announce that I had finally found a creative use for all the glass jars that usually make their way to the city dump and I couldn’t be more pleased. Now, not only do I get to have creative play days, but I can do something better for the environment, too.

As you know, Americans are pretty good about recycling glass drinking bottles—especially since many states pay you cash for doing so. But how many of us actually recycle those glass jars used for pickles, mayo, salsa, olive oil, and other food products?

If you live in a city that has a curbside recycling program in place, it’s easy to stay earth conscious. Just sort your trash, place it in the proper trash cans, and wait for trash day. But what if you live somewhere that doesn’t have a curbside recycling program in place? Can you honestly say that you haul your trash off to the nearest recycling facility? And what if that recycling facility is an hour away? Do you make the trip or do you, like most of us, simply throw your trash away without a second thought?

While not all glass can be recycled through recycling centers nearly all glass can be repurposed or reused as art. All it takes is a little imagination.

Just check out what some of these companies are doing with recycled glass:

EnviroLGLAS turns old glass into floors anyone can walk on.
Bedrock Industries creates wonderful mosaic pieces for the home and garden.
EcoFriendly Flooring creates tiles that can be used in bathrooms and floors.
Fire & Light creates beautiful, colored glass tableware.
Simon Harrison Design creates beautiful jewelry.

For ideas you, personally, can use for repurposing the glass in your home, check out DIY Network’s glass section at DIYNetwork.com.

And finally, to discover why Master Glass Artist, Erwin Timmers, says, “We’re at a point in our lifetime in our society where we really have to start making a change in the way we interact with our environment ” check out The Washington Post’s article titled, “A Glass Master Displays the Art of Conservation“.

Keep Creating

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What’s With The Phases?

Thursday, April 24th, 2008 by Alyice

It has been so much fun reflecting on the many different creative phases in my life and it’s been fun walking down memory lane and seeing all the photos of past work. I just wish I had some stuff to share with you from when I was a young child.

I’ll never forget the first time I created a poster about Native American Indians or the time I tried to trick everyone into believing that I actually drew this awesome cartoon character when all I really did was trace the outline onto a large poster board using a projector and color it in. (I know…shame on me. But hey I was just a kid who didn’t know any better.)

And I will forever cherish the days my mother sat down, on the floor, at the top of our stairs and colored with me. She lovingly showed me how to blend colors using crayons, how to create different effects using circular motion versus linear motion and heavy coloring versus soft coloring. And for just a little while I felt as though time had just stood still and I was the only thing that mattered to her.

“So seriously, what’s with all the reflection?” you ask.

Well, to be quite honest I really needed to allow myself the luxury of remembering who I am. Several years ago a tragic death took place in my life that nearly destroyed me. And while I have been functioning on the outside and cherishing every moment with my family, I really did lose sight of who I was.

I had always been a creative person. I had always felt alive when creating—even it if wasn’t all that great in the eyes of others. And I had always enjoyed visual stimulation through the works of others—crafters, painters, sculptors, photographers, videographers, visionaries, and even nature.

But that death stifled me emotionally, creatively, and for awhile physically. It’s taken a long time to be okay without that person in my life and to accept death for what it is—a transition from this world to the next (heaven). And it’s taken a long time to truly feel alive again—alive in a way that allows creativity to flourish.

So I guess you could say that I needed to remind myself of one simple fact: creativity has always been a part of who I am as a person and without it, I am not completely whole.

P.S.

In case you’ve come across this post months, even years later, here’s a list of the phases to which I spoke of.

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The Quilt Phase

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 by Alyice

I have always loved the “idea” of quilt making—by hand. In fact, I still envision a group of women gathered in a circle working on our quilts as we discuss life, dreams, and Christianity. Will it ever really happen? I don’t know. But what I do know is that it’s a dream I continue to hold on to and now that we have the Museum of Visual Materials here in South Dakota it just might become a reality!

You see the Museum of Visual Materials hosts free and paid sewing classes at various times throughout the year. Although I have yet to attend—mainly because their sewing classes have been during winter months and I don’t do much winter driving since I span out of control two winters ago—I do hold on to the hope that they will hosts these classes in spring and summer. And once I get the basics down, I’m going to volunteer to host a Quilting Circle right there at the Museum of Visual Materials.

In fact, I have all these wonderful quilting ideas in my head: Heritage quilts showcasing material that has been passed down from generation to generation right along side photos of ancestors. Family trees designed to bridge the generation gap by showcasing each era in a family member’s life right next to a photo of that family member. Art quilts showcasing children’s artwork through the years and perhaps even a few adult pieces of art. T-shirt quilts showcasing all those favorite imprints or perhaps showcasing a shirt from each travel destination made over the years. And there might even be a few embroidered or cross-stitched pieces in there—complete with remnants of old jewelry.

My husband even bought me an old sewing machine at a garage sale last year—which he promises to clean up and have ready for me this summer.

There was even a time I thought I was well on my way to learning the wonderful art of quilting. I had met a woman at church who agreed to teach me. And for one month we met once a week to cut up old clothing and stitch two pieces together. But sixty pieces later her life got swamped and my quilting lessons ended.

It’s been nearly ten years and several state-to-state moves since I cut out that material and I still haven’t done anything with them. It’s not that I hadn’t looked for sewing classes in the past, believe me I tried. It’s just that there weren’t any sewing classes being offered—until now!

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