Eco-Friendly Mosaic Art by Sandy Schimmel

That old saying, "one man's garbage is another man's treasure" fits Sandy Schimmel's art to a tee. Her mosaic art is a beautiful and ingenious combination of painting along with junk mail or greeting cards or scrap paper. All the materials normally dumped into our trash without a second thought. Her artwork is colorful, energetic, ethereal, and eco-friendly to the core.

The three things Sandy can't live without (besides her art supplies):

1. Her husband. "He gave me the courage to quit my job and become a full-time, stay-at-home professional artist. He supports our family so I am free to create 24/7. He comes to every opening, every show, is my biggest supporter and cheerleader - and he puts up with all my emotions - which range from agony to ectasy! Oh, and he's my absolute ideal man!"


2. Her studio. "A place where I can shut the door, listen to the radio, books or tape or music...make a mess, make art, make decisions, and leave the world behind for those hours. I think it is absolutely imperative for an artist to have a space that is theirs alone."


3. The library. "When I am stuck, all I need is a stroll through a few stacks to find a zillion sources for inspiration... travel, history, fashion, other art forms, other artists, decor, etc."

Click HERE to visit Sandy's website. And, HERE to read more about the artist.

Recycled Glass Art by John Bassett

Retired carpenter and amateur musician, John Bassett, creates recycled glass art. He and his wife, Christina, live in Brookline, Massachusetts. "My town has a good recycling program, and I get a lot of my bottles and old windows from the town dump. I’ve been doing glass since 1979. I was a kid who drew and painted. My uncle, Richard Bassett was a painter. If there is consistency in what I make it is in the re-use of old stuff. I’m interested in the richness of shape and texture of glass produced by slumping and fusing. "

"I’m doing glass that can be shown on interior walls and doesn’t need strong backlighting. This wall mounted glass is supported by armatures of wood or brass. I’m interested in light, structure, line, texture, balance, and color in that order. I also do panels for windows and commissions. I’m happy in the rich, associative world of recycled glass and other found objects. "

Besides creating recycled glass art, John and his wife lead a busy life with their cats, Enrique and Cowley. And, proud of their seven grandchildren, Rachel, Theo, Penny, Freddy, Naomi, Henry, and Gavriella. John also keeps busy showing his artwork, promoting the green aspect of his recycled craft. Visit his website to see additional glass art HERE. ~Information provided by John Bassett and also seen on his website.

Images used with permission from John Bassett.

Found Object Assemblage Art Dolls by Suzan Buckner

What do most artists and craftspeople have in common? They are obsessed with their craft. In a positive way, that is. And, Suzan Buckner is no exception. Visit her blog, and you'll see what I mean. "The only frustration that I have with my artwork is that I want to make more than is humanly possible. I want to paint a gazillion paintings a day, and do a couple of dozen assemblages a day, and I want to make art dolls on top of all of that. So, it's frustrating to have to write my ideas down on paper, and do them as I get to them. I need four of me, and 50 hours in a day, and I could make everything that I want to make." Her greatest "unexpected" joy from art is the inner peace that it gives her. "I am high-strung by nature, and art calms me. I also use it to work through various problems in my mind..things that bug me."

Suzan is married to Chuck, and between them, they have three grown children and four grandchildren. Her dog Petey is about three years old (they think). "He showed up in my yard one day, and we tried to run him off, but he kept coming back. Finally, I fed him, and then named him, then took him to the vet..now he's a spoiled rotten brat of a dog." She adores Petey! And, she feels the same about her craft. "I have always loved art, and took art in high school, and I have ALWAYS said that I am going to be an artist. No one believed me because I didn't actively DO art. But, I have said that since I was about 4 years old (I am 44 now.) So, I really think that it was predetermined that I would make art...it just took me 42 years to get around to doing it." And, this month is her two year anniversary from the day she "got around" to doing it.

Much of her assemblage pieces are made from recycled materials. "I begin by having my husband get the wood, and cutting it like I want it. Then, I sit in my studio, and just move things around until I like it. I have a gazillion things right at my fingertips, so it's just like putting a puzzle together. I get all of my materials for assemblage at junk stores, thrift stores, antique stores..anywhere. I hoard it. I could probably create a couple of thousand pieces without ever leaving my studio, but I keep buying more stuff." Suzan gets her inspiration from other artists, from pictures, from things that she sees. "Inspiration is everywhere. I jot things down when I find them, and use them for reference later." If you want inspiration, visit her blog to see her artwork HERE. And, her website HERE. And, be sure to take a look at her journal pages on her Flickr site HERE.

Images used with permission from Suzan Buckner.

Environmental Art by John Dahlsen

“Blue Rope” (Triptych) (Environmental Assemblage Art)

Environmental artist John Dahlsen has eyes the color of the bluest sea, and that's only fitting since it was the ocean that first inspired his craft. While searching for driftwood to make furniture at a remote beach in Australia, in the mid 1990's, he discovered "vast amounts of plastic ocean debris" Following his instincts, he started picking up the beach litter and hauled it home. What happened next is somewhat of a history in the making. John's history, that is. And, an inspirational one it is. His is the story of the creative, artistic mind. One we are all capable of tuning into,if we only try.

6 Driftwood Totems 2009 (Environmental Driftwood Art )

John took the beach litter and organized them into groups according to their material and their color. There were ropes and strings, all kinds of plastics (yellow and blue and red in color) and plastic coke bottles, and even thongs (flip flops.) These were the materials he would later use to create his abstract environmental art. He likens these found objects to a "giant painters pallete." "I later had the notion of making assemblages of each of these objects once sorted, this occurred to me as a natural extension of the process I was undergoing in the studio. This whole new palette of colour and shape revealing itself to me immediately affected me; I had never seen such hues and forms before which enabled me to make new environmental art."

Blue River (Recycled Plastic Bag Art)

"As I worked with these objects, I became even more fascinated by the way they had been modified and weathered by the ocean and nature's elements. My challenge as an artist was to take these found objects, which might on first meeting have no apparent dialogue, and to work with them until they spoke and told their story, which included those underlying environmental messages inherent in the use of this kind of medium. " Read more of the artist's statement of his works HERE. And, visit his website to see more incredible environmental art HERE. ~From the artist's website with consent.

Images posted with permission from John Dahlsen.

Jewelry Created from PET Bottles by Gülnur Ozdaglar

Gülnur Ozdaglar lives in Ankara, Turkey, and is an architect by trade. Architecture, however, is not her only area of expertise. Gülnur also designs remarkable jewelry. Remarkable because of it's beauty, yes, but also because of it's concept and the material from which they are made. Her delicate and sculptural pieces are created from PET bottles. Specifically, recycled plastic drinking bottles. You know, the kind that is filling up our garbage cans AND our landfills?

The concept is simple. Gülnur collects plastic bottles. In fact, all her friends and neighbors do the same. The bottom portion of the large plastic bottles becomes the material for the bowls she also creates, the remaining parts are used for her jewelry. The construction is simple. She cuts the plastic into pieces according to her design, forms them with heat, pierces them with a soldering iron, and arranges them to suit her creation. However, the design and aesthetics are not simple. For that, you would have to be Gülnur. After all, it is her artistic sensibility and designing skills that go into each piece of hand crafted brooch, necklace, or earrings.

We all know, or should be aware, of our growing environmental issues. Our planet is being bombarded with synthetic "material" that can be recycled and transformed into reusable products, instead of wasting space and potentially harming the environment and our health. And, that is what Gülnur is doing one piece of beautiful jewelry and art bowl at a time.

Visit her blog to see more of her craft HERE. And, her Etsy site HERE. And, Gülnur has been generous enough to create a tutorial on how to make an art bowl from PET bottles. You can find her instructions HERE. ~Jewelry construction from Gülnur Ozdaglar

Images of jewelry copyrighted by Gülnur Ozdaglar, and posted with consent.