Remember, the intention with finding rubbish and recycling to incorporate in art projects is not to teach your child that sifting through the rubbish is acceptable. Rather, the intention is to renegotiate an item’s spot in the rubbish bin – to demonstrate how to re-use and re-purpose with artistic motive. In this way, recycling art is where creativity and sustainability meet.
Recycling art is an opportunity to teach children that it’s entirely possible (and fun) to make do with what we already have… which is a lot.
In this consumption society of ours, we tend to use something to the end of its purported life cycle and decide when it is rubbish forever. However, this type of limited pedestrian thinking directly contradicts the creative process that we ought to be teaching our young ones: An artist has complete decisional freedom, especially in choosing whether something is forever rubbish or promising art material. Inspiration comes when we least expect it – and now where we least expect it – the rubbish bin!
Joey Libin is half fledgling businesswoman, half artist. Joey spends her days freelance marketing, strategising, and copywriting for amazing young companies. At night, Joey finds herself busily writing stories and articles and drawing. She loves building, creating, and amplifying things to their full, soaring capacity. You can follow her journey on Instagram.
