Recycling and Creativity

Today I saw Earth 911 ( http://earth911.com/ ) putting out a call for recycled craft gifts for Mother's Day.  It gets me to thinking about the wastefulness of the "Hallmark Holidays" not that Mothers and Grandparents and St Valentine don't deserve at least a day of recognition, but who needs a holiday for which all you need to do is buy a $5 greeting card that is just going to make it into the recycle bin or landfill?
This of course puts me in mind of much of my creative work ("of course" because it's all about me anyway) where I try to use up and re-purpose everything in my shop, especially if it is wood. I figure the epitome of this would be my Totem Poles ( http://www.etsy.com/listing/65575537/totem-pole-style-sculpture ) created from the discarded handles of the foam brushes I go through by the bucket.

These small dowels would otherwise end up in a landfill.  But what about all of the other consumable supplies I use everyday?  Saw dust gets mixed with white PVA to create a wood filler that is stain-able and matches the wood that the dust came off.  I know another artist who uses his dead saw blades in creative works of art.  My dead sand paper gets used as a texture stamp for creating interesting finishes.  Paint cans are cleaned and polished and turned in to lamp shades, but I also use aerosol cans and I must admit that I have been holding on to them at a loss.  I want to try and get the ball bearings out of them, but am to squeamish to poke a hole in them BOOM. heh heh

Then I saw this

http://gizfactory.com/article/armchair-made-from-spray-paint-cans/

LOVE IT!

I can see that I am going to have to use up some more cans so I can make one.  Stay glued to my blog and you will be the first to see my version.

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