Artistic Recycling: Amazing Uses for Leftover Bottle Caps

Posted on October 13, 2008 by Paula Mitchell Bentley in Art

This fish mosaic by John T. Unger consists entirely of recycled materials. There are bottle caps throughout the length of the fish as well as recycled metal fins and a dustpan tail. John T. Unger has a large series of fish mosaics which vary in style, colour and size. The undulating reflections of the hundreds of bottle caps give the fish unexpected colour and texture while perfectly representing the scales of a fish.

art art

This mosaic also by John T. Unger uses Italian glass to make up the head and body of a mermaid while the maiden’s dreadlocks and fish she’s holding are made up of hundreds of bottle caps. The mixture of bottle caps and Italian glass give modern art a folksy feel.

art

This Atlas bottle cap mosaic by John T. Unger leads to a variety of interpretations … from holding up the weight of the worlds garbage, to being crushed by alcoholism, to a desire to drink in the entire world.

This bottle cap mosaic on the back of a house is a sure way to grab people’s attention. The green vines convert a boring beige clad house into an extension of the garden. It even evokes images of Jack and the beanstalk. In these tumultuous economic times, this bottle cap mosaic is a sure way to add substantial value to the house while keeping items out of landfills at the same time!

Whichever way these bottle cap and glass mosaics are interpreted, one thing remains clear: bottle caps can be used to beautiful and add value to items in many ways.

This has looked at garbage from a different view point. How can we reuse our trash in innovative, creative and artistic ways? How can we keep the planet from staggering under the weight of all of the garbage? Give it a try … you may be surprised at what you can accomplish with something you’d otherwise throw away.

This is a guest post by Paula Mitchell Bentley

Art, bottle caps, mosaic, recycle, upcycle

39 Responses to “ Artistic Recycling: Amazing Uses for Leftover Bottle Caps ”

Liane Schmidt

14. Oct, 2008

Incredible stuff!!

Blessings.

Sincerely,

-Liane Schmidt.

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tom

14. Oct, 2008

Brilliant!
I adore you!

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angel beni

14. Oct, 2008

very intresting,
it is good to know that we can make something beautiful out of garbage

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RJ Evans

14. Oct, 2008

This is amazing stuff! Just goes to show that whatever we throw away - however small - has some intrinsic value somewhere else!

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Paula Mitchell-Bentley

14. Oct, 2008

I’m so glad you guys like this! It’s amazing what people can do when they really set their minds to using less and especially, discarding less. We should really look twice at what we’re throwing away each day and decide if that is really the best choice. Thanks everyone!!!

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Emily James

14. Oct, 2008

Hi,
I LOVED this-very cool

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Rookie Expert

14. Oct, 2008

The ones by Rick Ladd are mindblowing, they look so ornamental! Superb article, inspires us to stay green.

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Louise Stone

14. Oct, 2008

Brilliant!!! I want to have a go!

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The Seeker

14. Oct, 2008

Love it! You come across some of the most amazing stuff. I really enjoy reading your blog.

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C. Jordan

14. Oct, 2008

great piece.

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C. Jordan

14. Oct, 2008

Great piece,. Tere are some talented people about

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thestickman

14. Oct, 2008

Gave it a REDDIT nudge.

-Kewl!

-thestickman

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CHAN LEE PENG

15. Oct, 2008

This is amazing!

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Judy Sheldon

15. Oct, 2008

Great piece, thanks!

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Lauren Axelrod

15. Oct, 2008

What an amazing show of art and creativity. Great piece Paula,

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Paula Mitchell-Bentley

15. Oct, 2008

Thanks for being so supportive everyone! Glad you like it as much as I do.

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Thorne

16. Oct, 2008

Wonderful!!! Great art, great idea and great blog!

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Mcleotg

16. Oct, 2008

i think that that bottle cap work is magnificant but how about you check out my pictures their url’s are:
http://www.picable.com/Art/Photography/Dangerous-Hummer.299339
and
http://www.picable.com/Art/Digital-Art/Bean-Laden.299661

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Pallavi

16. Oct, 2008

This is truly amazing.

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Pallavi

16. Oct, 2008

This is truly amazing!

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Lena Brown

16. Oct, 2008

Really cool! Great article….

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John Knox

16. Oct, 2008

This is great. I’ve been collecting individual caps, but recycling my repeats, now I’m packrating them all for a big project. Check out the cork head — a mask made of corks:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/71531951@N00/51544548/

or the topographical map of Minnesota, in corks!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/71531951@N00/51544512/in/photostream/

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Ashleigh

16. Nov, 2008

These are awesome!!!! My boyfriend has been collecting beer bottle tops for ages and has wanted to do something them….now he’s got some idea of what he can do!!! Just wondering though,what is the best way to attach them to something like a mirror or a table, etc?????

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Chris

10. Dec, 2008

Amazing creations especially the portrait!

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BoeZoe

19. Dec, 2008

This artist John Unger has got something good going on and I like it! Glad you found & featured his work. Wish I had his kind of talent too.

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Alan Harris

28. Jul, 2009

This is GREAT!! I have similar work:

http://www.bottlecapartwork.com

-Alan

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- Paula Mitchell Bentley
  
  28. Jul, 2009
  
  I love your work Alan! It’s sort of like mosaic tiles except with bottle caps. I’d definitely recommend readers to take a peak at your work. I’d love to see more work in your portfolio. Also, if you’re looking for a supply of Smirnoff Ice caps, I’m your girl!!
  
  Reply to this comment
dorcas

22. Sep, 2009

spectacular stuff im impressed and motivated!!!!

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urmum

14. Oct, 2009

this is stupid

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Василий

29. Oct, 2009

Хм… После прочтения даже мне тема стала интересна.

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Sites linking to this post:

Reciclaje artístico de tapones de botella | Rick Ladd y John T. Unger | ..: Cristian Eslava | Diseño Gráfico / Web | Maquetación | Formación :..

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[...] caps aren’t just for keeping liquid in bottles anymore! via greenupgrader Rate this!Score: +5. Votes: 5. Posted under: Art, Packaging Tagged with: Art, bottle [...]

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Artistic Recycling Amazing Uses for Leftover Bottle Caps | My Site

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[...] Artistic Recycling Amazing Uses for Leftover Bottle Caps Posted by root 16 minutes ago (http://greenupgrader.com) The complexity and inventiveness of the bottle caps make this ordinary chair and mirror into fine works of c jordan 14 oct 2008 great piece reply to this comment this is truly amazing reply to this comment lena brown 2008 greenupgrader all rights reserved Discuss | Bury | News | Artistic Recycling Amazing Uses for Leftover Bottle Caps [...]

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