Upcycle

     I am an avid subscriber to the art of upcycling. For those of you who don't know upcycling is much like recycling but the concept is that instead of just re-using something you are improving upon it. Often the item is even transformed in it's purpose. Currently one of the most popular scenes for upcyling is in refurbished furniture thanks to common popularity of the rustic look in todays world. I however have been experiment with the use of it in my artwork.

     While perusing the cubicle spaces of some beach front antique stores I came across some interesting items I thought to be useful. First off I found four old photos that suited my needs. There were so many photos which amazed me that people so easily get rid of little tangible pieces of evidence eluding to memories. I for one couldn't but ultimately their loss is my gain. The other item I stumbled upon was a small apothecary vase. A little dingy but nothing a good scrub couldn't fix.

     After some careful planning I transformed these photos into my image. I placed my classic linear shapes into the scene. My mother nature creation made a couple appearances. In one the stars came out to shine. It was interesting deciding the method at which to apply the imagery. In the end pen and acrylic worked best. As for the apothecary vase I wanted it become a "looking glass". By this I mean the image upon the back side so when you look at the vase it looks as if the image is trapped inside. I was thrilled with how this turned out. Inside lies my distraughtly demoralized mother earth. To see these images individually in more detail visit http://ardentprints.vpweb.com/default.html .