My tagline above sums up what my NEW artwork is all about. I have currently left off painting realistically, perhaps until the time comes that I run out of recycled items to glue on my canvas?

If you're not the creative sort and don't know what to do with your miscellaneous items, send them to me and I'll not only pay you the shipping costs, but I'll send you a free mini jewel painting. And if you buy one of my paintings, you'll feel good about it, knowing you're helping the environment by encouraging me (and others) to continue recycling/upcycling.

The 9x12 inch painting below is called "Alphabet Soup" using old chain and necklace pieces and is $160.00 US, (220.00 CD) plus shipping, like all my 9x12's which are sold with a simple black wooden frame.

Below is another 9x12 inch piece I call "Angel Stones" and is made with a pearl chain necklace, loose pearls (all artificial pearls) and little pieces of copper wire that my husband saved from his electronic projects. Also in the centre are some clear beads, some home-grown crystals (left over from my daughter's projects) and a couple of plastic wing-like earrings.

All the things that we tend to put in a box and store for "later", all the stuff we throw in the trash even though it still has some life left in it, and even all the stuff that we believe really might be garbage, could become a productive part of our lives again. Things like dead pens or pencil ends, bread bag closures or teeth flossers, broken jewellery or plastic cutlery - the list is endless these days so don't throw it out, put it on the wall!

Recently my husband bought a 3-D printer and all kinds of pieces end up as scrap because they don't print properly, so after a month's worth of projects, because I asked him not to throw anything out, I had enough miscellaneous pieces for a large painting (it's my next project and blog topic).

The piece above, also a 9x12 inch board, is called "Fruit Bearing Vine" and uses only two necklaces which I had taken apart. The angled jewel pieces came out of the chain with angled shapes in it (the vine).

AND - the music is my own creation! It starts out a little slow but I think the sound goes along with the image quite well. Please, please, please send me any comments you might have.

Click on the images above to see their videos.

My blog last month has the story of why I started this business of recycling. (It's titled, "Why make mixed-media art, you ask?"

And my website has been updated to reflect my new vision.