Lee Paris

LOVE AMONGST THE STAINLESS
I often spot the daily objects in my environment living a life of their own, completely independent of my existence. These knives, for example, have been going steady for some time.

Kathleen Leuba

I took a yoga retreat to help me deal with a long illness and persistent pain in my leg. I found it a little odd that the teacher advised me I had 'feelings trapped in my leg' and instructed me to write a letter from my leg. Much questioning and doubting ensued, but the end of week punch-line is - yep, I experienced a cathartic release and left with a happy leg. When my comfy, experienced yoga pants finally fell apart from much use, I didn't want to part with them, my partner in learning and growing. I created this remembrance from one thigh of the fabric. I call it LegUp. It helps me remember the magical dance between spirit and body, and reminds me to continue receiving the gift of yoga.

WILLIAM C ALTHAM

"Homage Louise Nevelson"

This is the sole surviving piece I did about 25 years ago from the styrofoam packing pieces which have been commonly used for shipping electronics and other products. I loved the variety of the shapes and the lightness of the styrofoam and started gluing them together. I got the inspiration from my love of Ms. Nevelson's work at that time with found objects which she often made room sized sculpture.

Perhaps it's time to let this "trash" sculpture go too, or maybe I will reglue the pieces and paint it stark white.

Lee Paris

"BENEATH OUR FEET"
I like to play a game with myself. Walk anywhere, stop, look down. There is always a world worth watching beneath my feet. I need not alter a hair or a grain of sand. The image is inherent.

Robert Hanlon

I was asked by a local resturant to decorate their walls with "stuff". That is all they said. I looked at all my "stuff", and I have quite a lot of it, and decided I really didn't need so many wrenches and pliers. This piece and others can be seen at The Minglewood Tavern in Gloucester MA.

Lee Paris

"THE ALIEN"
Friends can be found everywhere!
One never knows who they'll meet while relaxing by the office park fountain.

Susan Richards

It's a wedding cake made out of pasta.

Robert Hanlon

Handbag - Pant leg, Lobster pot bait-bag, old strap, leather scraps, copper nails.

Robert Hanlon

"Dancing Fools" Tools

Robert Hanlon

"Guitar Jam" 36x48. Guitars sliced in half on a table saw

Mary Elizabeth Greeley

I was asked by my fourth-grade teacher at the Friends Select School in Philadelphia, PA to develop an invention of my own. I am providing a photograph below:
I call it a "Dry Relaxation Tub." It is a relaxation tub filled with plastic foam packing peanuts.
Problem Statement: People hava a great deal of stress and aches and pains in their bodies. They need a way to relax without paying a lot of money and having to go to a gym, club or swimming pool or needing a professional massage or various forms of exercize to ease their body.
Description of My Invention: This is a relaxation tub that is filled with plastic foam packing peanuts. The person needing to relax can step into the cardboard box filled with the peanuts using a step-stool, ease him- or her- self down, stretch out and cover up with the peanuts. I have done this and it is easy to do. I felt as if I were floating in clouds. I could even cover myself completely and was still able to breathe easily. No one could drown or suffocate in this tub. I felt completely relaxed and the entire session was extremely comfortable.

Note: I may have sent an earlier brief version of this invention a few moments ago. Please ignore that one and use this one.

Mary Elizabeth Greeley, Age 10

Angela Loomis

My son has made some adorable animals out of small antique tins. We were out antiquing a few weeks back, and we've been scrounging and collecting stuff for years -- when we talked about making some little sculptures. He bought some small tins cheaply, and has made four animals so far. I'll upload the Cayenne Pepper Penguin.

Joan Freedman

When some people turn fifty they get a tattoo, others buy a fancy car. I decided to combine these ideas and tattoo my car.

I blogged for several weeks looking for feedback and traction on the various ideas I wanted to incorporate. If I was going to drive this car around for years the design had to really speak of who I am. Thanks to family and friends commenting on my blog I was able to combine my love of fabric, color, puzzles, and communication into the "Carzy Quilt".

My 2000 Odyssey van is covered with shapes of fabric cut from old clothing attached with silicone bathtub caulk. Stitching was added with permanent marker and everything sealed with 2 layers of marine expoy. There is a secret message written in six different "languages" around the bottom. Each language is an important part of my heritage or related to my profession.

The best part of this project is that over the course of a weekend in November 2010, 60 friends and family members all helped with the implementation. A local magazine featured the project at http://www.urbanitebaltimore.com/baltimore/paint-by-number/Content?oid=1348004

I feel so full of life when I drive my car around Baltimore. People smile at me, give the thumbs up, and occasionally I even find a love note tucked under the windshield wiper.

Victoria Tane

As a jewelry artist I'm constantly looking for new uses for old things. I created this necklace from vintage chandelier crystals and anodized aluminum pencil eraser caps (ferrules) from the 1970's. I call it elegance through upcycling.

Bob Caron

Like one of your other submitters, I also work in hardware. While I was re-keying some door lever trim, I noticed that the way I arranged them on the bench looked like they were hugging each other. I then decided to get some more trim and make an official piece called "Love Handles"

Laurel Reinhardt

When I left MN to move to WNC, I left behind a labyrinth mowed into the grass of a local college, and I searched for a way of making one for myself. This led me to begin quilting labyrinths, but I still wanted a walkable one. I eventually settled on over-turned wine bottles to define the path; I liked this for 2 reasons: the whole idea of Spirit being held by containers of spirits, and the concavities would allow me to put in votive candles to walk the labyrinth at night. The picture here is one of my cat, Willow, "walking" the labyrinth a few mornings before her death

Maurice Kenji Clarke

ROAMING RHINO – Evolving an Idea; Converting my '95 Jeep Cherokee into a full-sized rhino.

This project was undertaken during my foundation year as a student in art school. We each selected an animal to sketch from observation, take photographic documentation, build a 3-D sculpture using found objects, and create a stop-motion video of our finished pieces. The goal was to illuminate the qualities of the animal through a comprehensive visual experience, from 2-D to 3-D, and then 4-D including time.

Found objects used in my piece include the front hood of a riding lawn mower found at a junkyard, metal scraps, discarded rubber tubing, and abandoned construction-yard tarps.

Backstory:
"When I arrived, I was greeted by the junkyard operator, a robust, thickly bearded man in oil-stained garments. Upon hearing my objective, he asked me to follow him to a back room in his office. I was a little concerned, but mostly curious—so, I followed."

For the rest of the story and to see the stop-motion video visit http://www.mauricekenjiclarke.com/RHINO.htm
www(dot)mauricekenjiclarke(dot)com(slash)RHINO.htm

Scott Sorrentino

"don't worry it's there" was made out of an old drawer that I found in the basement... it screamed skinny house, so i made it. I thought I'd play with the voyeur artist thing and put a nude in the upstairs window as though she were looking in a mirror.
I started an online Art blog immediately after losing my job in December 2009 and the Unemployment Gallery of Fine Art was born. I've always painted and kept a sketchbook but now i have more time to make Art and this is one of my found objects... nothing fancy at the Unemployment Gallery.

Kit Kerkvliet

Sparked from the effects of Oregon winter (rain) on boxes, I became intrigued by plastic nature of wet cardboard. Combined with a question of the division between high fashion and fine art, I began work. In the process of collecting cardboard the material spoke to me again, this time via the verbiage and iconography of packaging. This piece is the result of following inspiration into process, asking questions along the way, and allowing materials to inform decisions.

Faith

I was raised to be resourceful by two artist parents. When I signed a lease with a no-paint clause for my beige box apartment, electrical tape quickly became one of my favorite materials. I used 2 widths of electrical tape to stripe the bathroom walls and white electrical tape to create a stile and rail design on my plain metal doors.