My art is grounded in re-cycling. I suppose one could say that Iʼm a “green” artist. If I see a discarded object that can be reborn in my artwork I will liberate it. Much of the recycled jewelry, objects and fabrics I use come from thrift shops, yard sales and auctions. Itʼs a symbiotic relationship. I support charitable missions and they support my art.
When I take note of a discarded object. I see it in the context of a larger work I am preparing or it might inspire a new work. I sense its relevance, no matter how small, to a creative idea I am striving to achieve.
When does any object lose its functional or aesthetic utility? Never really, since perception is relative; a urinal may become a piece of sculpture. We attach meanings and emotions to objects, and the physical context of these objects will affect and condition how we respond to them. Thus a piece of 50ʼs costume jewelry might, on its own, evoke negative feelings of cheap and out of fashion. But, in the kaleidoscope of a collaged nautical piece it adds a pinch of nostalgia and color to help display the beautiful nature of the sea creature.
All art is, after all, nothing more than a creative persons selection and re- juxtapositioning of elements which already exist, albeit words for the writer, colors for the painter, or various discarded objects and jewelry for my own work. A new, creative entity is born when these elements are combined and oriented by the artist.
Thus, for me, discarded jewels are reborn as meaningful Nautical art.