Art from Found Objects

I'm continuing in the vein of Joonie's previous post regarding vintage stuff . . .

I always love to see art that uses various found objects and repurposes them to create something entirely new.  Joon mentioned a restaurant supply store she loves to visit.  I've had luck at local Habitat for Humanity Restore and a place called The Scrap Exchange not far from where I live in Raleigh, NC.  These are all terrific resources for finding good materials for art projects. 

BBESTers are among the most talented reuse artists.  HeronKate has a wonderful assemblage in her shop called The Pearl Diver.  This piece is composed of a mannequin, natural sea sponges,  pearl "drops" from a Victorian window decoration, shells, beads, a piece of Chinese play money, glitter, and frogs.  I've been antiquing with Kate and she knows where all the good stuff is.

You can always expect the unexpected from The Junkyard Gypsy.  This is Annabelle the Anteater.  She is composed of  a vintage gas nozzle, vintage jello molds and a beautiful vintage tin.   All Junky's creations are at least 75% vintage or antique materials, and contain at least one piece that was destined for the local landfill.

Other great BBEST recyclers include LuckyGirlTrading, who finished off a bottle of Southern Comfort (not really) and made it into a neat little serving plate.  LuckyGirl adds rubber feet to her slumped bottles and suggests these as the perfect gift for someone who has everything.  She's got vanilla bottles for teabag rests, bar glasses for spoon rests, and a blue tequila bottle for a snack plate.

Karen loves finding vintage photos, and uses them in the mixed media collages in her shop  LemachiGallery.   She adds fabrics, foil, lutradur and other fun stuff to layer her pieces into works of art.  She loved the look of pride in the mother's eyes in this piece called Sunflower Family, and added some lace and acrylic medium for texture to get the result she wanted. 

In addition to making art from recycled materials, these four BBEST artists all have something else in common.  If you've figured out what it is, please say so in your comments!