Recycled art: waste not

Most people's first experience with recycled art comes in kindergarten, where popsicle sticks became crude bird houses and picture frames. Granted, these projects were made possible thanks to Elmer's glue and glitter, so they weren't the most sophisticated works of art.

We also knew kids who collected pull-tabs from soda cans and made chains to string across their rooms.We thought that was pretty cool, but a man named John Milkovisch took the idea to a different dimension when he constructed an entire house out of discarded beer cans. Now that's commitment.

Remodeling the bathroom? Take a cue from Marcel "Readymade" Duchamp and the anti-art Dada movement and turn that old commode into a sculptural masterpiece.

If you really want to invest yourself in a project, look no further than the top of your head to create intricate Victorian-style hair jewelry. Learn to make yourself useful, like Tim Hawkinson who glued his own fingernail clippings together to create the mini sculpture, Bird.

With so much material literally at your fingertips, the possibilities are endless.

• Making Art With Recycled Materials - fun art projects using recycled household items.
• Alex Andromeda - high tech, recycled-computer futuristic art, like the Lord of the Time Rings.
• Recycled-Into-Art - Herrat Sommerhoff emulates the Dadaists by using toilet paper rolls, milk cartons, and other discarded items.
• Victorian Hair Artists Guild - carrying on the tradition of ornamental hair art.

Directory categories: Recycled Art, Dada and Surrealism, Recycled Material Crafts, Recycling

Originally posted on The Spark, a daily blog where Yahoo! Directory editors highlight new and interesting content on the Web.