Designer and artist Sang Won Sung re-assembles recycled dolls, toys and common, plastic household items into new hybrid toys and sculptures.

Perhaps this off-beat collection of dolls and creatures can provide some inspiration to anyone considering a DIY Halloween costume, or pondering an artistic way to clean out a family room filled plastic toys that have long ago lost their original fascination.

via:  recyclart
photo credit:  Sang Won Sung

A collection of female street artists called Neozoon creates these animal silhouettes and sculptures out of recycled fur coats.  Hmmm, someone kills and skins an animal ostensibly to stay stylishly warm.  Then someone else takes this pelt and transforms it back into the shape of an animal...

Is this a proper use for upcycled animal pelts?  Is it art?  Is it a political statement?  Is it a manifestation of the common perception that animals are products and objects? Is it PETA approved?

The organization’s Web site is comprised primarily of photo collections and videos of their arts street exhibitions and collections.  We have inquired about more info. Thought provoking, no?  (more…)

Recycling taken to the next level.  The ‘Nelson’ chair is the creation of French artist, visionary furniture designer and high-end recycler, Francois Royer and Stanker Design.  This industrial seating unit is an eye-catching amalgamation of recycled brushed silver steel drum, repurposed birch bedbase slats and a couple of rubber stops.

Feel free to checkout our previous posts on Monsieur Royer’s work.

Maybe it’s time for you to start expressing yourself artistically.  These award-winning sets for a proposed WD-40 ad campaign were more for a design school project by art director Linda Snorina of Dallas…Shows what you can create with a $20 budget spent on WalMart hardware.  Photographed in Linda’s  living room.

Does art always embody some form of obsession?  Perhaps. This is how French recycling artist Brauer describes his work, “In our modern world, where objects often have a single life, I aim at inventing a new existence for them by diverting them from their initial function.  I particularly like the robust appearance of used steel and industrial materials.  When I put them together, they start a new life as unique pieces of art, in which each component can tell its own story.”

What he does is reconfigure the recycled remains of our discarded industrial past into new pieces of art that include retro-looking robots, lamps and lights.  Practical…probably not.

Brauer displays his luminary Frankensteins in galleries and exhibits (some of his pieces are currently on exhibit in Spain), and sells to collectors.  To add another level of connection he even christens his offspring with names like Anatole, Zoe, Sam and Horton. Thought provoking?  Definitely, yes.

Now you can display eco-friendly big game trophies around your home without going all ‘Charlton Heston’ and blowing away some unsuspecting rhino or moose.  Cardboard Safari makes these decorative animal figures and animal trophies from recycled, non-toxic cardboard.  The figures are laser-cut for precision fit and easy assembly using slotted construction.

They look great in their native brown or white and can be customized with paint, wrapping paper or other craft materials.

The little sculptures can be recycled if the kids damage them or they no longer amuse you.

You can buy one for as little as $12 @ Cardboard Safari’s Etsy shop

Common Ground, a touring art, media, and technology exhibition, will be in North America from July 8 to August 13.  I haven’t been able to attend it myself, but I hope to soon, it sounds exciting.  Over 1000 artists from 40 countries are participating.

The multimedia exhibit emphasizes the common ground of all people on Earth, bringing together art + media to raise awareness and financial support for environmental projects, worldwide.  The Common Ground community unites designers, artists, curators, art patrons and galleries alike, all who share a common interest for a great cause — celebrating a healthy planet.

The exhibition is corporate-sponsored and relies heavily on media coverage from print to broadcast to internet.  Common Ground helps generate funds for new environmental projects by non-profit organizations all around the world, including:  the World Wildlife Fund, Global Giving and The Global Environmental Institute.

Currently, it’s at the A&I Gallery (933 North Highland Ave, Los Angeles, 90038) for a limited time; so if you’re in the area, visit it soon, before it moves on to Europe later this year.

For more info, visit Common Ground 2010.

I admit it, I like spiders…this steampunk spider sculpture (above) was created from the upcycled remnants of a clock and an assortment of brass and copper wire and various metal parts.

The  piece, entitled ‘RELIC’, was displayed at the Museum of the History of Science Oxford UK’s exhibit, ‘Steampunk – Contraptions + Devices Extraordinaire’.

Featured at CatherinetteRings Etsy shop.

An altCon exclusive…

Massachusetts-based artist, Suzanne Meyer-Pistorius seems to be an Out of Africa original.  Her childhood roots trace back to a farm in Swaziland, where arid conditions prevailed and precious water was treated like gold.

Suzanne hand paints fabric for apparel or upholstery.  Recovers one of a kind chairs.  Creates exotic jewelry.  Designs home interiors, and takes on other exciting projects as well. Also featuring Dan Minicucci’s nature photography and Susan Zamboni’s Vintage Spiderwear handbags – Blugirlart‘s environmentally conscious canvas covers a wide landscape whereby almost work is one-of-a-kind, and made from recycled material.

AC: Tell us a little about the fabric and paint you employ to recover chairs.
“In addition to recycling material, I use four base cloths — Hemp summer cloth and Hemp canvas, a silk and hemp blend and a organic cotton twill.  All my paints are water based non toxic.  And I use VECTRA spray fabric protectant – the green alternative to ScotchGuard.”

AC:  And the fabric for your custom work?
“Many of my clients have given me estate pieces of clothing to memorialize into wearable art.”

AC:  How did you and Clean Water Action form a relationship?
“I have been supporting Clean Water Action in my personal capacity for the past 7 years and when I received a call from CWA in early spring asking me to call the Governor  of Massachusetts and ask him to sign legislation banning the use of BPA in baby products, I realized that CWA does so much more than work on legislation regarding the environment — so I contacted them with my proposal and CWA were eager to partner especially considering the nature of the products on my website.”

Blugirlart.com currently donates a whopping 15% to Clean Water Action.org.

Maybe we are products of our environment. An inspiring place where art, commerce and the environment seamlessly hang together — find really great and affordable eco art @ Blugirlart.com