Metal wall art, made from recycled aluminum cans by Transcendant Treasure.  These pin up onto the wall in any configuration you want.

Love Pillow sewn from recycled plastic bottle felt by Personal Pillow.  The heart is a pocket you can hide a little note or treat in.

Light a torch in your loved one’s heart with this red current scented, 100% soy wax candle from Torch Illumination.

A heart you can step on and not feel guilty!  This heart shaped rug is made of recycled t-shirts by Talking Squid (you just have to love that shop name!).

Simple and sweet, these scrap wood blocks from Uniquely Different Too spell it out for all to see.  And hey, if things don’t work out, you can always switch them around and claim you have an unabashed fondness for voles.

A bit over the top, but maybe that’s why it looks so fun.  This refurbished vanity chair is by Picks4U.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, this is for the narcissist in us all…  Made by Upcountry Design in Hawaii from old, corrugated iron roofing, this mirror can also be fitted with a light kit that really makes it glow.

“My love is like a read, read rose” (my apologies to Robert Burns – well, his ghost anyway).  This pretty, recycled book page rose is by The Mad Recycler.

Lastly, we have this sweet little distressed wood frame by Katie Herman Designs.  Made from reclaimed oak flooring, it has oodles of old fashioned charm.  Yes, I said “oodles”.  We all have our favorite words…

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel

Vigor, the seriously awesome, recycled, drag racing steampunk dragon sculpture by Etsy artisans Reclaim2Fame.

Just look at that face!

And look at that attention to detail.  Love!

The Year of the Dragon is considered the luckiest of the twelve years in the Chinese zodiac.  Whoever snaps up this amazing little guy will be lucky indeed.

By the way, if the price tag for Vigor has you spitting your coffee out on the screen, take heart.  Reclaim2Fame also makes more affordable sculptures, like this adorable robot dog.

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel

Since I have such a severe case of wanderlust, I thought it appropriate to make this week’s “Etsy Find” a globe and map themed one.  Enjoy!

Map covered wooden chair by New Yorganize.

Collier’s 1935 Map Drawer Pulls by Sherry Truitt

Reclaimed chalkboard globe by Stamp Your Art Out.

Corrugated Basket with Map of Vancouver, Canada by CORRUGATED Mosaic.

Recycled map end table–Detroit, Michigan by Hocus Focus.

Artichoke Road Map Pendant Light by Zipper8Lighting

Elephant Atop A Globe Repurposed Dictionary Art

Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!

Rachel

Here, the heat of summer smacks right into the cold and wet of winter, with hardly any visual transition.  You have to search to find a tree displaying true fall color.  Luckily, Santa Monica based artist Cassandra Tondro is willing to make that search and give us a taste of autumn, Southern California style.

At first glance, you could be excused for thinking these are impressions from leaves that have been dipped in paint and pressed onto paper.  After all, didn’t many of us do that in crafts classes growing up?  Not that our childish blobs ever looked this amazing, but still, it’s been done right?  Guess again.

These primordial prints aren’t from color put ON the leaves.  These prints are created from color that is IN the leaves.

Through a special process she has developed, involving soaking, steaming and drying, Tondro is able to extract the actual color of the leaves onto deckle edge cotton rag paper.

The richly colored results are fascinating, and each print is completely unique!

To see more of her Leaf Monoprints, as well as her other eco-friendly art work, go to Tondro Green Art.

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel

And one that tells me what time it is (snack time!) is even better.

These charming clocks are the creation of Etsy seller Nicola and the Newfoundlander.

Constructed from a piece of reclaimed 1938 water tower wood, these clocks feature a hand screened print on silk, or other colorful printed fabrics.

These fish seem to be swimming right around the hands.

Pretty, Japanese style branch with blossoms.

This rooster looks a bit cocky, don’t you think?

Charming chirpers.

There are many more styles available, including dogs, trees, and architectural images.  Check them all out at  Nicola and the Newfoundlander (and check out their cute clothing too!).

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel

not one,…

not two,…

but THREE T-rex skeletons on exhibit now!

Cool!!!

So in honor of the tyrannically good time we are going to have, I present you with some prehistoric fun from Etsy…

Reclaimed wood TRex skull by Recycled State

Organic lambswool Dinos Roar pillow by Niko & Nonnie

Dino illustration on vintage book page by New Day Prints

Master of Disaster recycled t-shirt pillow by AedanSeppe

“Hey There Dino” limited edition screenprinted poster on recycled card stock by Katie Blair Designs

Dino skeleton from recycled materials by JD Salvaged Creations

Wishing all my dear readers a marvelous weekend!

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel

The fifth in a series of artisan profiles by contributing writer Emerald Atkins.

Don’t throw away that house paint!  It can be used for art.

Cassandra Tondro, an artist living in Santa Monica, CA, knows that secret, and has been using it since 2007 to create vibrant abstract paintings.  Her unique medium comes from many sources.  Sometimes the acrylic latex paint is literally repurposed house paint, gleaned either from the mistint shelves of hardware stores or from the local household hazardous waste center.  She also works directly with her clients by incorporating leftover paint from their architectural site to create truly custom art.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that between 35 to 103 million gallons of post-consumer architectural paint are disposed of in the United States each year. By rescuing paint before it reaches landfills, Cassandra helps to reduce waste.  Yet it wasn’t until she’d been working with the medium for many years, she said, that  she realized how the material was in alignment with her personal values.  Since the 1960s her evolving interests have included organic and natural foods, voluntary lifestyle simplicity, alternative healing, and a deep concern about the changing environment — and sustainable artwork is a natural extension of those interests.  As an expression of that, her paintings are created on custom-made canvases made from American poplar hardwood and cotton canvas woven in U.S. mills.  Both materials are readily renewable.

When her clients wish, the art is created with low- or no-VOC paint.

Cassandra works with interior designers, architects, art consultants, and individual collectors to produce paintings tailored for their homes, offices, and commercial properties.  Her work is part of public collections in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New Hampshire.  Custom pieces grace the walls of hospitals and organizations such as the Oakwood Family Resource Center in Los Angeles.  Galleries widespread as the Bergamot Café Gallery in Santa Monica, CA, and the LoPressionism Gallery in Melbourne, FL, have featured her art.

Currently her work is being displayed at the LACMA Art Rental and Sales Gallery in Los Angeles, CA; at the OBJCT Gallery in Claremont, CA; and the Pierre Paul Art Gallery in Ann Arbor, MI.

It hasn’t always been this way.  Cassandra labored as a computer programmer for eighteen years before following her heart and opening WildFiber, a store and studio in Santa Monica, CA, which offered classes in fiber arts.  She owned the store for seven years, then sold the business to one of her teachers and finally made the leap into making her living from sales of her art.  2011 marks her eleventh year as a full-time painter.

Along the way she was influenced by many artists – Georgia O’Keefe, Judy Chicago, Australian textilist India Flint, and California abstract painter Ed Moses, among others, including her mother, an abstract sculptor who created in wood and marble.  Cassandra considers herself a process painter, meaning that she’s more interested in the process of painting than in obtaining a particular end result.  Initially she painted with acrylics, which gave her work an ethereal look, but now enjoys how the acrylic latex medium allows for stronger contrast and more distinct design.

“I love this work and the discipline that it requires,” she said.  “It stretches me in unexpected ways and demands that I learn many new skills… I enjoy the feeling that I’m continuing to grow, evolve, and perfect my art.”

Ms. Tondro’s work can be seen at her website.  She may also be contacted by phone at 310-452-2964.

I’ve never seen a more heroic chicken.  Have you?  That hen looks ready to take on the entire Luftwaffe all by herself!

The poster is just one of several great designs created for the Victory Garden for Tomorrow Campaign by graphic artist Joe Wirtheim.

Here’s another fave – “Grow Food“.  Guess I must have a chicken complex.

The posters, like “Break New Ground“, are a wonderful, fresh take on the graphic style of classic, wartime propaganda posters.

Kids and “Compost” are definitely made for each other.  Nothing beats rotting food and worms when you’re a kid!

All four posters are printed with an offset press on acid free, FSC certified paper, making their environmental message more than just pretty words and pictures.  They measure 12″ x 18″ and are $12 each.

Available through our OpenSky shop.

Or in this case, lighting.  The striking light fixture above was made of twigs and handmade paper, by designer/artist David Ward.

Originally trained as a landscape architect, David Ward soon found himself more intrigued by the twigs and branches trimmed from the trees than he was by the trees themselves.   After exploring different ways of attaching and forming the twigs he had accumulated, he began to make three dimensional artworks from them.

Next thing he knew, he was receiving commissions for pieces from architects and designers, and his business Sticks & Stones was born.

Now he has completed over a hundred different projects involving lighting and artwork, both for commercial and residential spaces.

Because of the natural variation of the twigs, every piece he creates is completely unique.  I especially like the way the organic shapes of the pieces work to soften the otherwise linear look of the contemporary spaces they are created for.  They pack a surprising amount of visual interest for being made of such a common material.  Just goes to show the beautiful possibilities the artistic eye can see that others barely notice.

To learn more about David Ward and his work, visit Sticks & Stones.

This beautiful image is one of two brand new, limited edition artworks available starting today from Paperwork.  Titled “San Francisco, CA 2010″, it is by photographer Alex Greenburg, and is printed on archival quality bamboo fiber art paper.  Yep, bamboo!

Of course, the best part is…

These artworks are not only sustainable, they are AFFORDABLE.  As in, only $20 for an 8″ x 10″ print!   So if you like today’s other new artwork, “Green Boots” by artist Maryam Gaber, (above) you can go to their website, pay your $20, and within 7 days, the 8″ x 10″, numbered print will arrive at your door with a certificate of authenticity and a brief biography of the artist. Many artworks are also available in editions up to 30″ x 40″, although that can set you back a bit more at up to $500 for a print.

Every Tuesday, at 1PM EST, Paperwork offers two new artworks by emerging artists, as well as any remaining prints from past weeks offerings.

Even though this can mean a fairly small selection is available at any one given time, with such an eclectic mix of styles and mediums to choose from, it would be hard not to find something you liked.  Personally, I’m really digging this colorful sketch of buildings in Portugal, “Bairro Alto 01″, by Brazilian artist Christina Guerreiro.

As an added bonus, starting today and running through Labor Day, Paperwork is offering free shipping on all purchases.  Just use coupon code laborpw at checkout.

I love that you can be a patron of the arts for only $20, and be environmentally conscious too.  What do you think?