Artistic Recycling: Amazing Uses for Leftover Bottle Caps
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.
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.
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
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30 Comments, Comment or Ping
Liane Schmidt
Incredible stuff!!
Blessings.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
Oct 14th, 2008
tom
Brilliant!
I adore you!
Oct 14th, 2008
angel beni
very intresting,
it is good to know that we can make something beautiful out of garbage
Oct 14th, 2008
RJ Evans
This is amazing stuff! Just goes to show that whatever we throw away - however small - has some intrinsic value somewhere else!
Oct 14th, 2008
Paula Mitchell-Bentley
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!!!
Oct 14th, 2008
Emily James
Hi,
I LOVED this-very cool
Oct 14th, 2008
Rookie Expert
The ones by Rick Ladd are mindblowing, they look so ornamental! Superb article, inspires us to stay green.
Oct 14th, 2008
Louise Stone
Brilliant!!! I want to have a go!
Oct 14th, 2008
The Seeker
Love it! You come across some of the most amazing stuff. I really enjoy reading your blog.
Oct 14th, 2008
C. Jordan
great piece.
Oct 14th, 2008
C. Jordan
Great piece,. Tere are some talented people about
Oct 14th, 2008
thestickman
Gave it a REDDIT nudge.
-Kewl!
-thestickman
Oct 14th, 2008
CHAN LEE PENG
This is amazing!
Oct 15th, 2008
Judy Sheldon
Great piece, thanks!
Oct 15th, 2008
Lauren Axelrod
What an amazing show of art and creativity. Great piece Paula,
Oct 15th, 2008
Paula Mitchell-Bentley
Thanks for being so supportive everyone! Glad you like it as much as I do.
Oct 15th, 2008
Thorne
Wonderful!!! Great art, great idea and great blog!
Oct 16th, 2008
Mcleotg
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
Oct 16th, 2008
Pallavi
This is truly amazing.
Oct 16th, 2008
Pallavi
This is truly amazing!
Oct 16th, 2008
Lena Brown
Really cool! Great article….
Oct 16th, 2008
John Knox
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/
Oct 16th, 2008
Ashleigh
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?????
Nov 16th, 2008
Chris
Amazing creations especially the portrait!
Dec 10th, 2008
BoeZoe
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.
Dec 19th, 2008
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“Artistic Recycling: Amazing Uses for Leftover Bottle Caps”