Laura (mentioned in a previous post) and I once had a conversation about environmentalism and art. We feel some guilt about creating new things when there is already so much stuff out there in the world. Do you ever feel like this? At the same time, we feel such a strong pull to create. I do think there is a role for art for art's sake. However, I have been trying to use more of my creative energy for practical purposes. Upcycling, making new things from old things, preferably stuff you would have thrown away, is one way to keep the creative juices flowing while making less of an environmental impact.
Some ideas for creating while lessening your environmental impact:
1. When I lived in Ithaca, NY, I saw a raincoat made from juice pouches. You can learn how to make a similar raincoat.
2. Another sewing project is using old t-shirts to make cloth diapers. Or if you are a knitter, making a soaker (a breathable cover for cloth diapers) might be your thing.
3. Old wool sweaters can be felted and turned into toys, purses, needle cases, tons of things!
4. Artist Trading Cards are often made of recycled components. (Tomorrow see my experiment in this.)
5. Repurpose LED lights and other stuff from old computer equipent. Cool tutorial on how to scavenge from an old CD drive from Make magazine.
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