Celebrate Green Blog

by Lynn

I’m an admirer of all things crafty and artistic, especially when “recycled” is involved. There are so many artists doing great altered art work out there and I love learning about both their background and process. When I first saw Rosie Rowe’s work at Altered Art & Stuff I was intrigued by her collages and altered projects and couldn’t wait to ask her some questions.

1. Tell us about one of your favorite pieces and why you love it.

Wow, this is so hard!

I have been browsing back through my blog to see which piece I should talk about and I am having the devil of a time trying to decide!

I think my love affair with textiles is pretty evident from Gabbo (a respresentation of my inner art critic), to Project Denim (part 1) and (part 2) then also the fun I had making zippered pouches once I found a really great tutorial with step-by-step photos.

But, a true picture of my favourite pieces would have to be this handmade mini, leather-bound journal, in the recycled denim box. I LOVE books with a passion, read every night (and day sometimes too!) and have a collection of books from flea markets and car boot sales, which I use in my collaged pieces. The older, thicker pages also make gorgeously tactile backs for textile/fabric ATCs, which I discovered recently!

Anyhow, this mini journal is composed of scrapping papers, altered book pages, some handpainted papers from a Class I took with Julie Prichard a few years ago, and some thin, emerald green leather which I machine-embroidered and stamped. Even the large blue flower on the front is recycled from a bunch of fake flowers which I bought, removed the plastic stalks and leaves and separated the petals!

So, it’s a pleasure to use up scrap paper and book pages, etc. to create a small, unique journal which fits into my bag (purse!), that I can make notes or sketches in when I’m out and about and the Muse strikes! Here’s a link to the post where I wrote about the journal.

2. What draws you to using items many people would throw away in your art work?

One of the biggest draws to recycling and repurposing for me, has always been that we are not very well off financially, so I always take ages to decide before I buy. However, if things are free, or to be thrown out, I can usually see possibilities for them.

If I can combine art and practicality, even better - hence Project denim where I tried to get as many wearable items as possible from one pair of my teenaged DD’s jeans! I incorporated discarded costume jewellery in the items I made as well as scraps of other fabric too!! As for canvas to paint on, well, cereal boxes are good, as is the instant ‘shabby chic’ of corrugated cardboard and even fabric can be painted on and heat set! Old books make marvelous journals and take wet media really well, if the pages are thick enough.

3. What inspires you?

Most of my inspiration comes from Nature, and my own visual memory. I have quite an eclectic collection of arty blogging friends and I love to see great photography - like some of the amazing/extraordinary pics featured on Bored Panda.com. I always seeing colour and form everywhere, online especially, in magazines, places I go walking or even shopping for groceries!

Packaging can be visually stimulating too! So, inspiration is everywhere and I love to learn new techniques, so I am always on the lookout for new-to-me tutorials and workshops, preferably free of charge, if possible!

Visit Rosie and check out her work at Altered Art & Stuff.

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, and founders of Green Halloween®.