Recycled Collage

by Jackie
(UK)

This collage was made for my daughter, inspired by a favourite author, and is totally made of recycled items.

The house was made of bandage ends which I painted, then sprayed with no-longer-used gel hairspray so that it hardened up.

The fish and walls of the house are made from recycled cereal boxes as well as using cardboard squares layered up, instead of foam pads, to raise the pieces up to different heights and create the 3D effect.

The canvas was an old one rescued from a charity shop bin as it did not sell. I just painted over it and built upon it.

The door knob was a brass washer from out of an old stereo.

The greenery and path are old fuzzy felt pieces from when my daughter was small.

The gold leaves and other fish are from some old earrings from the 80s, which were some of my favourites.

There is also an old brooch on there too.

If you don't have glue, you can make up a paste from flour and water - this needs to be stiff like porridge (oatmeal). It's trial and error but add water to your flour a little bit at a time, until it gets 'globby' and frogspawn-like, then let it stand a while. This type of homemade glue can go mouldy but I have a scrapbook from my mother that she made in 1947 and it's still fine!