By Joey Libin
In your rubbish bin right now are crumpled and forgotten discards put there because they had no further use. However, if you were so daring as to search through this bin, you would find a world of colours, patterns, and textures – unexpected art materials that give rubbish a second life.
Stripped packaging, old sticky notes, cardboard of all thicknesses, stale jellybeans, washed fruit seeds and pits, and dog fur (we’re being creative here) are all potential rubbish bin contents.
Once washed and disinfected to satisfaction, these items can be cut, pasted, taped, and positioned in the most imaginative of ways.
If and when handling rubbish or recycling is unpleasant, wear gloves and a mask. Such precautionary measures will illustrate to your child that their art project is tedious and advanced. Plus, projects which involve more steps and extra care give children more to be proud of. Also, if the rubbish or recycling used may decompose over time, brush over the project with a layer of transparent sealant.
There is a method to rubbish searching for art materials. When you go to the bin and lead a search, instruct your little one to look for things that feel interesting to the touch (i.e. texture) and for things that have exciting colours and shapes (i.e. colour, print, and pattern).
With an item in your child’s hand, suggest imaginative and crafty uses for it beyond the rubbish bin.
For example, if little Zoey’s rubbish bin find is a stale jellybean, it is completely reasonable to reincarnate that jellybean as a belt buckle glued onto a drawing of a person. When young Liam unearths a mass of crumpled tinfoil, he might as well use it to symbolise ice or a skating rink in a winter scene.
