Happy Earth Day!

"Bob" Madi's tree she planted for Earth Day

Welcome to Earth Day! My daughter Madi planted a tree for Earth Day and promptly named Bob. So, welcome Bob!

Last weekend I attended a Recycle Reuse Earth Day Exhibit at The Muse. It was a crazy weather day, with high winds and thunderstorms. I actually read in the paper this week that three tornadoes did touch down that evening in New Market. But, I couldn't miss it! Here are some of the exhibits that were displayed that evening:

"Truth" by Courtney Prahl

 

 

Courtney created this amazing sculpture using roots, vintage pieces, and found objects. Courtney is a mixed media artist with a great shop on Etsy.

"Buttons & Chains bracelet" by Stacie Spencer

I used vintage jewelry from three different necklaces and old buttons. Read more about this piece in my Earth Day Art Challenge post.

"When Pigs Fly" by Heidi Rosencrantz

Heidi used a music box, dishware, toy figurine, vase and paper mache to create her fun sculpture.

"Bench & Chair" by John Cummings

John is a homeless man that lives in Frederick. He used clothespins to create these intricate wooden designs.

"The Dancer" by John Holly

John created his dancer using a coat hanger, aluminum and fabric scrap.

"Hope" by Laurel Manthey Silvio

Laurel used wood, scrap metal, photos, chicken wire, jar, sticks and newspaper to create her beautiful artwork.

"We all live downstream" by Hillary Banachowski

Hillary used wood, glass, metal flashing, sheet rock, and acrylic paint to create her water themed artwork.

"Earth Goddess" by Karen Peacock

Karen Peacock created her sculpture using Costco bathing suit display torsos, discarded materials, and leftover paint.

"Pink Lady" by Ellen Byrne

This is one of my favorites, I think the Pink Lady is beautiful and serene. Ellen used an old frame and canvas, "opps" paints which are colors from rejected house paint.

If you live in the area, you still have time to visit the exhibit at The Muse. The Earth Day exhibit will run through April 30th.  I have to say, I'm really happy that I braved the weather! Hope you have a wonderful Earth Day! I'd love to know what you did today to celebrate Earth Day. If you get a chance, leave me a comment and let me know.

Earth Day Art Challenge

Last week I answered a call for art for an Earth Day Art Challenge with the Muse in Frederick. The challenge was to create a piece of art using entirely recycled items. Since I happen to enjoy working with jewelry, I decided to create a piece of jewelry using vintage jewelry and buttons. I am happy to say that the bracelet I created was accepted for the Earth Day Exhibit!

Here are photos of the vintage pieces that I used to create my "new" bracelet.

I enjoyed the challenge of using vintage jewelry pieces and buttons to create something new. I always like the idea that someone else wore the jewelry in another place and in another time. The buttons are from a collection that I inherited from my husband's great Aunt Marguerite.  Aunt Marguerite was a talented artist herself and loved anything crafty, so I know that she would enjoy that fact that her buttons are living on in the artistic world. I have used her buttons in mixed media collage and as decorative embellishments on clothing.  She had an amazing talent of carving birds from wood. I will have to take photo's of her work and share them with you in a future post.

So, here is the final result of combining all these separate pieces together.

There is an artist reception next week at The Muse from 5-7 on Saturday night the 16th. I will make sure to bring my camera so I can share some of the other recycled art pieces with you.