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Years ago--so long ago I can't remember if it was paid or volunteer work--I had a tiny, tiny job faciilitating a "recycled art" workshop for children and young adults at the Iowa Renewable Energy Association Exposition. At that time, in the early to mid aughts, the Expo was a yearly thing and I had a friend who was involved with it who asked me to be a part of it for about three years (thanks, Michelle!). I was always able to gather so much stuff to re-use that I don't think

It's fascinating to me how my upcycled art practice cannot be separated from the greater context of my life and others' lives because of the meaning-upgrade inherent in re-using materials. The art is meaningful as art but also as something that has proven itself to be more useful than the culture expected it to be. That upgrade comes with the risk of stress from the very act of holding onto things to re-purpose. I find my art practice often at odds with my living situation, w

In 2025, I did many upcycling projects that were not pictured and I will do my best to document a few of them here. One project is hard to describe in that it is not a one-and-done. I have been slowly adding to and augmenting a particular sweatshirt since I bought it used in 2020. I immediately didn't like the way it was open at that back, with two curved panels overlapping, so I sewed them together to make a smooth, continuous back panel. Because the main color is white,

I re-made this belt recently, and it took a really long time (two months, methinks). I couldn't even remember when I got the belt but I'm pretty sure it was thrifted, possibly in Lansing, Michigan. The cloth (a canvas-y textile) holding the buckles together in a loop had frayed and could no longer hold them, so I cut the gray fabric away and made a new loop for the buckles from an old tank top. I decided to decorate the outside of the belt with different shapes, using bits

I began my upcycling journey many years ago, but as I continue my journey, I draw inspiration from friends and YouTubers who also work in this mode. A bonus of working in the realm of upcycling is that AI can't imitate what you are doing. The value is in saving money and resources and doing things by hand. Yesterday I decided that I would try to make an attractive storage box out of a cardboard box, paper grocery bags, and used wrapping paper pieces collaged onto the sides an