Art and Craft

Cateus made this incredible tree by cutting up two plastic Coke bottles into very fine string string and then crocheting them. On Craftster she explains that it's part of a major project she's working on right now "to a theme of recycling and the damage desposable products are doing to the earth." Personally I just love when people take items that would normally be considered garbage and manage to turn them into something beautiful. I think seeing something like this really inspires people to look at the world around them and think about how they can reuse things rather than just letting them clog up a landfil.

When I first saw this Coke bottle tree it reminded me of a Brian Jungen exhibit the boyfriend and I saw at the Vancouver Art Gallery a couple of years ago. Jungen's work also has an environmental message as he takes items that are mass produced and turns them into scupltures often depicting cultures or creatures that are dying out because of that same mass production. Here are a couple samples of his work that I really like. If his show ever visits an art gallery in your area, take the time to go. It's worth seeing these up close.


Protoype for New Understanding #5 by Brian Jungen. Made from Nike Air Jordans and human hair, this is just one in a series of masks Jungen has created.


Shapeshifter by Brian Jungen. This one is made from plastic lawn chairs. When you're at the exhibit you can actually walk right up and stand under this piece. It's then that you notice Jungen has left the price tags on some of the chairs. It's a bit jarring to think you're looking at a whale skeleton and then notice the Canadian Tire stickers on some of the bones.