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As an artist, finding new places to obtain cheap and interesting materials is always a challenge. Fortunately creative reuse centers are a great way to find inspiration while giving old materials new life. The East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse on the Oakland/Berkeley border is a nonprofit corporation “devoted to getting people to reuse materials.”
The East Bay Depot has paper, art supplies, posters, fabric, sewing/knitting gear, teaching materials, books, magazines, candles, greeting cards, foamcore, masonite, chalk/cork boards, pens, pencils, markers, audio tapes, CD cases, shoe boxes, video tapes, glass jars, film canisters, lab glass, mosiac tiles, paint samples, carpet samples, maps, blueprints, x-rays, envelopes, trophies, frames, artwork, toys, puzzles, games, office supplies, binders, rubber bands, traffic light lenses, slides, found photos, paint, glue, printmaking supplies, rubber stamps, beads, jewelry, faux flowers, brick-a-brack, and collectible do-dads galore. This and so much more, with new items coming in every day.
Similar creative reuse centers that are open to the public (many are only open to schools and non-profits) can be found scattered across the country: Scroungers Center For Reusable Art Parts (SCRAP) in San Francisco, the Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts (M.E.C.C.) in Oregon, School and Community Reuse Action Project (SCRAP) in Portland, Hudson Valley Materials Exchange in New York and the Creative Reuse Warehouse in Chicago.
Most creative reuse centers also sponsor special art events and educational outreach programs designed to teach kids (and the community) about the importance of reuse. These centers are not only a great place to buy supplies, but a great place to donate (instead of throw out) any kind of art supply or material you could imagine.
Wow, I LOVE the idea of making a lamp shade out of old slides…….I don’t think that would be too hard to do either!
I am especially interested in this article, as a fellow artist myself. I have been running papier mache workshops with students. I love this medium as it involves recylcing and natural materials such as flour/water. I would love to work further with children on art made from recyclables. I’ll have to check if there is an organization like this in my province. Great site!
http://trishishere.blogspot.com
http://www.simplyart.tk
There are many different types of reuse centers across the nation, 22 in the state of Florida. They are great for free materials for educators, kids, and artists, and for businesses who get the tax deduction plus eliminates their disposal fee to the landfill. Check out http://www.resourcedepot.net for one example.
Im doing my senior thesis on old materals as a means of sastainable living and Im looking for places I can obtain old materals to make new things from. I live in the los angeles area. does anyone know of any great places?
Here is another in Florida: trash2treasurefl.org