Sustainable art from plastic bags

WASTE TO DESIGN — There are many creative ways of reusing waste. Bettina Deda asked Northern Beaches-based Eco Artist & Designer Angela van Boxtel to share her story and motivation to transform waste into art projects.

What is the story behind Eco Art & Design?

Educating & inspiring people about how to be more resourceful and creative with ‘waste’. I’m really annoyed about how much of a consumer society we have become and how people throw away stuff so easily. Most people don’t have any connection with the objects they buy and that is why it’s so easy to dispose of them. People do not have the skills anymore to repair things or make things. Many of my workshops involve practical skills and I teach lots of young people too. For example, lately I did the SWAP – Youth Recycle Art Factory in Ryde. Most teenagers never held a hammer before in their life! I like to teach people basic skills about how you can create beautiful things out of waste, such as the stool project described below. Once you put so much time in rescuing an object you will look after it and I am sure you don’t throw it out ‘easily’. Change is as simple as that!

When did you decide to become an eco artist?

I’ve always been resourceful and many of my art & design projects included recycling. Living in Manly and being involved with local environmental groups inspired me to get the message out there through my art and teach people that less is more. I often use waste materials from the beach in my art pieces such as plastic bags. I was commissioned by Lane Cove Council to create a recycled reindeer. For this project I recycled 2000 plastic shopping bags by crocheting them into the sculpture. I also crocheted the well known ‘teeny greeny plastic bag bikini’ which was modelled by well known plus size model Laura Wells and has been featured in many exhibitions and the media.

How does a typical waste to art project look like?

I don’t call it waste as to me what others throw away I see as resources. I love picking up old pieces of furniture from the council clean up. Most of them are easy to fix. With recycling furniture you have the option of combining textiles with wood. Once done, the pieces you create are very durable. For example, I transformed an old broken stool into a funky piece of furniture.

All you need is an old stool. If the top is broken you just fill the hole with some scraps of fabric. Sand the stool with some medium grain sandpaper. Clean the stool and make it dust free. Finally, cover it with two coats of paint. I suggest using white as it makes your stool cover stand out. In my case, I also picked up the paint from the council clean up. Many people throw out paint during pick up time, as they are not aware that you can’t put this out with the general waste. Paint is toxic for the environment and has to be disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. Before buying new paint, ask friends and family members if they have some leftovers. Let your self be surprised by unusual covers and create your textile cover accordingly. I usually avoid buying anything new when working on recycling projects. I try to be as creative as possible in acquiring supplies needed for my projects.

Once the stool is done, I created my cover with jeans fabric.

After cutting out the seams I ended up with four rectangular pieces of fabric. I then cut around the fabric in a circular way and rolled the fabric in a ball to start crocheting. Crocheting with recycled textiles is a bit more tough then normal crochet and you will need a large strong crochet hook. For my stool I worked in a circular pattern until I reached the size of the stool seating. I finally attached the cover – done!

Could you tell us more about the projects you won an award for?

I have won many awards over the years. I care more about the heArt that’s in a person not a piece of paper. It’s meaningless to me! Though yes, I have been nominated many times for the Manly Eco Award for environmental hero.

This year I was nominated with my business for the Northern Beaches Business Awards and also was a nominee with my blog Green with Envy Ideas for the Voices of Australia. In the end you are only as good as your last project, for me that is currently the wrapping of the columns of the Manly Art Gallery & Museum with a plastic bag crochet pattern for the Manly Arts Festival in September. It will be exciting! Everyone can be involved too, by giving up their LAST plastic shopping bag and donate it to me for the project.

Where can our readers learn more about your work? You can visit my blog Green with Envy Ideas, which has daily updates about the projects I am working on and my website Eco Art & Design for more inspiration on how to live more in harmony with your environment. I also run workshops for local Councils and ‘Crochet with Waste’ courses in and around Sydney at many arts festivals and cultural events. There’s always something happening somewhere with a project I am involved in!

Angela van Boxtel www.angelavanboxtel.com