We asked the artists selected for our “Recycled Art” Show the following questions:
 
1)In a short paragraph, tell us about yourself
2)With your recycled materials, tell us about your process. Walk us through the steps to achieve one of your works from sourcing the materials to completing the work for display or use.
3)What is your favorite piece for sale at this event? And why? 
4)What has inspired you to apply for this show? 
5)Where can we find your work: website, social media, local stores.
 
 
What follows are responses we received and images of some of the work you’ll see in this show.


Joel Lugo
As a child I was surrounded by art and music as well as a deep culture and a diverse background, This pushed me to expand my horizons and tap in to the amazing world of painting.
 
I collect old snowboards that are not rideable. I get the boards from friends, family, the Goodwill and some local snowboard companies. I clean them up and add my inspired Colorado art work into them. I also add a protective clear coating.
 
All my pieces are unique and one of a kind, I will be adding my Pikes Peak Snowboard. I will also have a few pieces available for inventory in case this piece sells. 

What has inspired you to apply for this show? 
The distinction and originality that this shows brings.
 
Where can we find your work: website, social media, local stores. www.jlugoscreation.com
 
 
 
Shannon McGarraugh
 My first recollection, in knowing that I was a creative, was enhanced by my living on an old farm built in 1926. I spent many hours collecting the colorful pieces of broken glass, digging in the dirt for rusty objects, shards, and arrowheads. I relished exploring bones, feathers, and eggshells as well. Consoled by a Jumbo Coloring book, my mother used it in an attempt to keep me inside and quieted down.
Since those childhood days I have gone on to acquire a BFA in studio art with a concentration in fiber/textiles. I am a self-taught painter and quilter. My greatest success came in the 1980’s when painting on clothing was popular. It was an honor to sell my items all over the country including Disney Land, The Gene Autry Western Museum, Toney Lama and art meccas such as Aspen, Vail, Santa Fe, Taos, Los Angeles, and New York to name a few. I am a “jack of all trades and master of none”.
 
Being a collector over the years I began to have to start facing downsizing. It was time to start ridding myself of “stuff”. I just couldn’t let go of some beautiful objects—so I decided to start recycling those things into art.
 
The process for creating my pieces is a very long one. But basically, I dig through lots of “stuff” at flea markets, my house, other people’s houses, the dirt, visiting nature, resale stores and on and on. Sometimes the object gives me the idea and other times I have no idea where each individual piece will end up. It is very much like the work of a woodworker. There is a lot cleaning, deconstruction and then reconstruction. This can include sanding, refinishing, distressing, rusting, painting, nailing, drilling, screwing, gluing, tacking, cutting, sawing, soldering, and starting over!
 
My favorite piece that will be in the show is the one I call the Modern Angel. I think it is because one would not necessary identify the pieces applied to the object. It has a mouth harp on the front and old-fashioned ceiling tile embellishment. The tile is a replica of the original and made of a plastic. It feels inviting and open. I also enjoy that less is often more.
 

Inspiration for entering this show came from my daughter. I supported her and encouraged her to continue her music from age 8 to the present day. She started sending me the information on the show and “pushed” until I sent in the forms. “This is what you do isn’t it?”, she said.
 
My work can be found on Facebook and Instagram by searching my name: Shannon McGarraugh
 
 
 
 
Monica Y. Parker
I am a Colorado native, born and raised in Springs, but I have traveled and lived all over the U.S.
 
I come from a very large family and all of us are artists. We are motley crew of musicians and visual artists.
 
I have always been interested in creating art. Even from a young age I liked working with my hands. As an adult I have more access to resources and find that has fed my need to create. I love to use recycled products found objects and even trash a lot of my other artwork includes jewelry, mobiles, coasters made from recycled vinyl albums, up cycled furniture and suitcases. I am also a photographer and I love music.
 
Well, do i have to pick just one [favorite piece]? There was a time I felt like I was always being followed by a little black cloud, like in the cartoons only you couldn't see mine. Then I heard Ma, my mother-in-law say "sometimes baby girl you just have to learn to laugh at yourself cause there is nothing you can do to change it". So, I did and I made me a little black rain cloud and hung it over my seat, and every time I see it it makes me giggle inside. And I love the whimsy of both the cloud and the mushrooms. As soon as I see an interesting shape of a bowl or a vase I get super excited to get home and make something neat.

Just laugh at yourself. figured it out, keep your childlike imagination and look for the good in everything instead of the bad. They are just small reminders and both the mushrooms and the clouds just make me happy.
 
I am always creating something, and I love to share my stuff it is a great way to move beyond my circle of friends and family and this is also the first time ever doing something like this so it will be a new experience that I can learn from. And the art itself inspires me, all of the colors, styles, mediums and combined creativity of other artists. And this gallery that celebrates and showcases the variety and unique talents of so many different artists. That inspires me. 
 
If you would like to see more of my stuff you can find me on different social media sites.
Www.facebook.com/hippiechick08
Facebook-Monica Parker The Crafty Bartender
Monica Parker - The Photographer
Instagram-Thehippiecchick
Etsy - Monica Parker The Crafty Bartender
 
 
 
Don Seidel
I have always had an interest in making my own art. In my younger years I was an award-winning professional photographer. I then spent 30 years in the corporate world of healthcare. Recently retired, I have more time to return to creating art, this time around as a sculptor. I have just started this new artistic journey, and the two sculptures in the show are among my first efforts.
 
“Radialhead” is a cylinder head from a 1973 motorcycle that I happened to have in my spare parts. Recently I pulled it out, cleaned it up and realized that it’s a really cool metal art object. I also had a piece of red flagstone and together they looked right. The effect I wanted to create was something metallic flowing out of the earth. The cool part is that the “Radialhead” is also a musical instrument if you run your fingernails against the fins!
 
The second sculpture “Sun Mountain” is a representation of the spirit of Pikes Peak. The rock was found along the Rampart Range fault line and is millions of years old. The flying goddess is a 1930’s era car hood ornament that symbolizes freedom, flight and victory. This sculpture was the first of mine to use an independent stand so that the rock would be off the ground and three dimensional.
 
Generally, my favorite piece of work is the last one that I did. But for this show my favorite would have to be the “Radialhead” because it is the first sculpture that I completed, and it motivated me to continue my artistic vision.

I am currently working on a series of sculptures using 1950’s hood ornaments with natural native rock formations to evoke a feeling of other planetary worlds being visited by chrome flying machines and flying goddesses.
 
All of the material in my sculptures are recycled either from manmade metal or from the earth. This recycled show is a perfect forum for my rock metal art
 
 
 
 
Darla Slee
Since childhood I have had an unquenchable creative spark. Whether I was drawing characters to cut out and play with or sculpting tiny doughnuts and pizzas from modeling clay, I was always making something. At some point, much later in life, I came across various electronic components and was fascinated by the intricate patterns of circuit boards and simple elegance of vacuum tubes. I began tinkering and ended up with some very unique pieces of jewelry.
 
Many of the materials I use come from discarded motherboards or hard drives. People will just give away these things once they’re obsolete. I also save any materials that look neat to me, like bottle caps. I have everything organized into various plastic bins. When I decide to make a new piece I’ll dig through these, holding up objects next to each other and imagining what they’d look like as a necklace or earrings or something else. I have a variety of tools to work with and can solder, hammer, drill, or saw the materials into whatever I wish.
 
It’s hard to hard to say what my favorite piece at this show is. I think my earrings made with the red bits of circuit board best represent what I do.
 

I had heard of the Recycled Art show in years past and this year I am fortunate enough to be a part of it. My jewelry made from recycled electronic components seemed like a natural fit.
 
I have an Etsy store called “darlatronic”, and a few pieces at Art 111.
 
 
 
Barb St. Clair
I have been painting since I was 10 years old. During the most productive years, I painted on everything from miniature furniture to full size pieces, antique coffee percolators, stools and anything I could find that was interesting. I like very busy detailed designs and I have even painted every scroll on the surface of antique oak chairs with a different pattern. I painted for 60 years but after the financial crash of 2008, things quit selling. Also, about 20 years ago my husband and I started an antique business and when rustic country products were popular we made barn wood bird houses and put antique door hardware, toys, and many kinds of bits on the bird houses. After the interest in that died down, I discovered that I had drawers full of interesting old “things” that were too good to just get rid of. I love working with different patterns and textures and colors, so I got the idea to make collages with the pieces. I also have added foreign coins and paper currencies left over from my husband’s foreign travels. The first collages I made were with personal items from our lives and then I expanded using all sorts of materials. I think the results are pleasing and I enjoy making them. I hope other people like them also.
 
It took time to figure out how to make the collages, so they would be sturdy and secure. I ended up using foam core board for the background and wire to hold most pieces on. I also used super glue to add extra strength to items. I have made several in shadow boxes that protect the items better and keep them clean, but I love the way the ornate frames help add to the richness of the entire feeling of the pieces.
 
Of the two that were accepted into this show, this is my favorite because it is large, ornate, and interesting.
 

I was inspired to apply for the recycled art show because I had not explored finding a venue for these collages yet, and before I put more time and energy into making them, I am curious to see if people liked them. I also find items made in the past to be rich in design and quality and I feel they should be appreciated in some way still.
 
The only way I can currently be contacted is by phone or email. My phone number is 719-389-1461, and email is [email protected]
 
 
 
Leslie Thompson
I started getting into art at a very early age. My mother was very creative, so it came naturally, and she fed my creativity with finger paints, clay, colored paper and of course, Elmer’s glue! I majored in art in college but have made my living through other jobs. Whenever I tried to support myself with my art my creative juices would freeze up and I would be at a loss. So, I would skip the starving artist bit and do it in my free time. I have sold many, many “Glass from the Past” pieces, mostly in Crested Butte. I have 3 pieces left, one of which is being entered into the show. All the rest are in private collectors’ homes or offices and I am keeping 2 for myself. My old dumps now are where they’ve built condos so my glass supply ran out.
 
While living in Crested Butte, Colorado for a year and a half, I discovered numerous old dumps rom the 1800’s- 1960’s. Shards of glass, silverware, buttons, bottles and jars. The purple and royal blue glass were my favorite to discover and it was also the rarest to find. Actually, red was almost impossible to find. I never dug up the dirt in the dumpsites. They were large enough I didn’t have to and after every good soaking rain storm or snow, the natural erosion would unearth new pieces. I would take big white pickle buckets out to the sites and fill them about 1/2 full. Otherwise it was too heavy to carry back home. I would rinse the majority of the soil off with a hose in the back yard. Then I’d take the buckets, with clean water, sit in my living room and scrub each piece by piece with an old toothbrush, rinse it and let them dry. Once I had enough clean glass I would methodically arrange the glass into jars (with cork tops). These jars were of all sizes and shaped. I would lay pieces into the jar to emphasize the color of the piece of glass when it would be back lit. Windowsills were/are the best place to show off and get the most enjoyment of the colors and shapes. Old broken bottle necks, the top of the lid, I’d lay those in such a way so you could see through the top of the neck. It’s kind of hard to describe. You’ve gotta see it to appreciate it!

I am grateful I have a show to present my final piece that I am willing to part with. One collector called them “garbage in a jar”! I got a kick out of that.


What inspired me to enter this show? I check out the art entries section of The Independent often. This theme was right up my alley. I have 3 pieces left of this project which I created for years.
 



 
Metal Gutz Turner
My name is Chris Turner, I have always been an artist. As a kid I started out drawing and playing with Lego's. Now that I'm an older kid, I play with the Gutz of machinery and a welder. As a Small Engine Mechanic, I can source a lot of parts. I also have a few mechanic friends that throw me parts. Once I got a welder, all the junk I had laying around, became sculptures. Most of those sculptures were given to my friends. Those are the friends that pushed me into selling. It was hard to sell the first few sculptures, because I knew I would never see them again. Yes, there is an attachment to the art. 
 
Because of where I get my parts, I named the company Metal Gutz Turner. I take the larger parts of the machinery and dig out the Gutz. This means most of the parts are saturated in oil or grease. I have to sweat out the oil with heat before I can get a good weld to the part. Most of my sculptures parts have already been made. I lay out the parts and modify it to be what I see. Weld together, wire wheel it, and then clear coat it.
 
The Duck is my favorite sculpture in the bunch. I found that similar artists follow and challenge each other, on Instagram. The Duck was my 1st entry into the #metal------challenge (#MetalDuckChallenge). I tried to impress, and the parts just made themselves. A lot of detail, with minimal effort.
 

​I wanted to start selling, but what was the first step? I was scrolling through the Independent and saw the ad for the show. I did a little research and decided I would try it out. I know Manitou is one of the hubs for Colorado Artist's. What better place to start? What the Commonwheel Co-op requires to enter their show, is what kicked me into creating Metal Gutz Turner LLC.
 
[email protected] / [email protected] / MetalGutzTurner.com(not set up yet).
 
 

We asked the artists selected for our “Recycled Art” Show the following questions:
 
1)In a short paragraph, tell us about yourself
2)With your recycled materials, tell us about your process. Walk us through the steps to achieve one of your works from sourcing the materials to completing the work for display or use.
3)What is your favorite piece for sale at this event? And why? 
4)What has inspired you to apply for this show? 
5)Where can we find your work: website, social media, local stores.
 
 
What follows are responses we received and images of some of the work you’ll see in this show.


m. jo hart
Originally from St. Louis, I moved to Colorado in 2015 after receiving my MFA in Ceramics from Illinois State University. I have a B.A. in Visual Communications and have worked as an Art Director/Graphic Designer in the corporate sector, non-profit, and public/private design industries with over 38+ years’ experience. I consider myself both an artist and maker. I create highly decorative functional pottery along with sculptural work that primarily focuses on female issues.
 
During my time as a designer I sought out ways to create for myself and was reacquainted with clay, remembering the fun I had in the clay studio as an undergrad. For years I attended classes at a local pottery studio and began selling my work. Later in my life an opportunity to apply to graduate school presented itself and I fully immersed myself in a 3-year program where I discovered a passion for working with the figure in clay, primarily on female issues. Attending graduate school as an older student, I was confronted with many hurdles and I was presented with countless opportunity for evolving as an artist.
 
Today, I work as an artist/maker, leaving the corporate world in the dust and no longer having to be contained in a cubicle. Recently I began collaborating with my partner, combining his woodworking craft and my porcelain art. I teach workshops and private lessons in clay and other mediums and find the creative process at times more satisfying than the outcome. As a self-supporting artist my piggy bank is often not as full as it was, but I wouldn’t trade this life for anything.
 
I am a collector of things I find on the ground (ie. rusty metal, things I find in garbage bins, other people’s trash. I may not have a specific use in mind when I retrieve something, but I always think I’ll use it later for an art piece. I like to make different kinds of art other than clay and the Recycle Show was an opportunity to do just that.
 
I don’t have a specific process when working with the recycled pieces. I look at what I have and put together what feels right. 

My ceramic work can be found at Commonwheel Artist Co-Op and I can be reached at my email address; [email protected]
 
 
 
Frances Huntington
All my life I have had a connection to art. My grandparents and parents are artists. I studied at UCCS where I really started to develop my own style and content. A few big themes in my work are domesticity, femininity, and the temporality of life. Using recycled materials really interests me because they show time and age. Recycled materials also have a past life. They are fragments of the past. For me, using recycled pieces of fabric or lace acknowledges and celebrates the past. That also includes celebrating and acknowledging the past ideas about what domesticity means. Re-purposing materials gives them a new life and represents a new era of domesticity.
 
 
For my piece Hometown Glass I had a unique process which started with searching for glass in my hometown, Salida, Co, with mom. My mom has always been a resourceful, creative type, so naturally she knows where all of the good scavenging locations are. There is a location tucked in the mountains by Salida, Co that used to be an old dump. There is glass scattered all over the ground ranging from deep blue, to purple, to opaque milky glass. So wandering around and finding little treasures was where Hometown Glass first started. Another component for this piece is the lace. I am always hunting through thrift stores and estate sales looking for interesting lace patterns and fabric. Even the wood for this piece is recycled and found in one of my outings. When I put all of the components together I focused on composition. With the green piece of glass especially, I loved the way it curved over the edge of the wood. I used epoxy resin to combine all of the components together. There were preexisting holes in the top of the wood, so I used those to thread a string through for hanging. Overall, I felt I created a piece that talks about domesticity, the past, and the passage of time.
 
My favorite piece for sale in this show is Impermanent Fabric. I think it has a vibrancy from the colors that is fun as well as nostalgic. My favorite part is how the print of the lace underneath the flower repeats the texture that is within the flower on top. Overall, I think it reflects what I enjoy doing which is printmaking as well as using recycled materials to create interesting pieces of art.
 

I decided to apply for this show because I thought that my work fit the theme very well. I embrace using recycled materials in all of my work. It is not only an economical decision it is also an aesthetic decision. I am excited to have more opportunities to show and share my work.
 
The best place to see my work is on Instagram. My Instagram name is artfrances.
 
 
 
Leah Kenyon
Born and raised in Colorado with no official art training. Focused on Piano and Cello performance throughout school. I was a Music performance major in college at CSU-Pueblo, but I always loved going to look at the current displays in art gallery next door. Later in life, I was giving an acrylic paint set as a gift and I decided the next year to make custom gifts, for all of my family and friends. I found that I really enjoy working with different mediums and playing with recycled wire in my work. As an outdoors enthusiast, I love our beautiful state as well as our planet, and reduce reuse and recycle are core values for me. I am dedicated to always finding the beauty in the scrap, and to creating something new from something considered to be "trash". Inspiration can come from anywhere, and I always try to keep my eyes open. 
 
With your recycled materials, tell us about your process. Walk us through the steps achieve one of your works from sourcing the materials to completing the work for display or use.
 
It all started with some old wood scrap from inside an old couch, that became my first Colorado flag. Then I started working with wood pallets. In my old '91 Jeep i would go around town and collect "trash" pallets or free ones from Craigslist. Moving maybe 6 at a time, I built up a stock at my home that I then began to disassemble (which is harder than it sounds). With the free lumber assorted by wood type and sizes, I then create unique sized and shaped back boards that I then will paint (see photo). After a thorough sanding and cleaning, I began to add color to base background.

​​My husband is an electrician and brings home "scrap" wire. We normally recycle this, one day I decided to use some wire to outline an eagle I had painted. I liked it so much that I then created a copper tree growing from my painting. I continued this theme and painted a aspen scene with the leaves free hanging, made of brass wire. I started to then experiment with colored beads on the wire in the paintings. It is at this point that I painted Metal Monarch. I primarily use copper wire in my work, but I also use aluminum and occasionally brass. I even use insulated scrap copper to hang all of my pieces. 
 
I absolutely love Tentacle Tangle! I love painting ships on pallet wood because it adds so much character to the piece. You can carve in the detail and layer with paint. I have always loved reading and have been fascinated with the oceans since I read “2000 Leagues Under the Sea” as a child. I tried to weave the aluminum wire so carefully into the outline of this monster. It is a special beast and fragile as it is strong. Even the pirates though, are not safe from what waits below!

Last Year, I was fortunate to be a featured Artist of the Month for 2 separate months at 2 different PPLD locations. Until this time, I had only worked primarily with family and friends. I gained confidence based on the positive feedback and emotional connections that were created by my work and I became more and more ambitious in my creations. Although I sometimes only paint, I most enjoy working with multiple mediums combining both texturing the wood and adding different types of scrap wires into my art. Every piece I've created from the beginning, has always been from recycled materials. When I saw the open call for this show on Facebook, I knew I had to try.
 
I have done a few small craft fares around town in past but mostly I work custom commissioned gifts or animal memorials. To reach LMK Up-Cycled Creations email [email protected] or https://www.facebook.com/NewLife4Art/
Let's get creative! The possibilities are endless . . . 
 
 
 
 
Ron Koehn
As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been making stuff out of most anything I could find, and with no concern about whether or not it was art. I simply enjoyed it. Back in the 1960’s, while a graduate student in Painting at the University of California in Berkeley, just for fun I began making metal sculptures out of “junk” I found behind my dad’s machine shop. For me it was an escape from the complicated “rules” of Abstract Expressionist Painting. No worries about “equivocal space” or “violating the integrity of the picture plane”. I was free to make anything I wanted, and art was fun again! My wire sculptures in this Commonwheel show bring back fond memories of those “good old days” in Berkeley, of “free speech”, “flower power” and the “Grateful Dead”!
 
Usually I’ll begin a wire sculpture by referring to one of my continuous-line contour drawings left over from life drawing classes. The wire sculpture thus becomes a 3-D contour drawing.
 
For my sculptures I’ve used mostly coat hanger wire, but sometimes baling wire if more length is needed. It can be worked with pliers, wire cutters and metal files. A bench vise and hammer are also useful. For attachments I use binding wire and solder. Sometimes I’ll cut up a tin can with metal shears to add bulk to the piece. Coating everything with black spray paint unifies it.
 
The “Rock Star” piece is embellished with bottle caps for eyes and guitar tuning pegs for earrings. The eyeballs inside the bottle caps are made of polymer clay.
 

​While coat hanger wire, tin cans and bottle caps are common household items, the need for a pair of guitar tuning pegs sent me out on a treasure hunt into the fascinating world of music stores. Rummaging through the stores’ spare parts boxes revealed a wealth of really cool stuff just waiting to be repurposed. It was a pack rat’s paradise! Something to keep in mind for future projects.
 
Though I like the slender grace and swiftness of the “Gazelle” piece, my favorite is “Rock Star”. It’s a retro piece from the 1960’s that I’ve restored and modernized this year. “Rock Star” is a bobble-head that used to come to life while riding on the inside rear deck of my Ford Falcon. I made it just for myself, so I felt free to break all the rules of “Abstract Expressionism” at UC Berkeley’s prestigious Department of Fine Art. Yay! Just touch it gently on the top of its head, and “Rock Star” will bobble for you.
 
2016’s Recycled Art show at Commonwheel impressed me very much. The inventive use of materials in the work was fascinating. That’s what inspired me to re-work a couple of my old wire sculptures and enter them in this year’s show.
 
My ceramic work can be seen by appointment at my home studio in Colorado Springs. I can be contacted by phone at (719) 592-0984 or online at [email protected]. Also I have a few pieces in the online store at www.commonwheel.com.
 
 
 
Marta Lacombe
I am a licensed architect in my country of origin, Brazil. I have worked in the field of architecture here in Colorado since emigrating from Brazil in 1997.
 
In Brazil, crime makes jewelry of precious metals and gems dangerous to own and wear. This has led me to appreciate things that were not meant to be jewels but possess a particular beauty in and of themselves.
 
My husband, a native of Colorado Springs, is a lover of the wild, an avid hiker, and my best supplier of metal, scraps, broken glass and aged objects. He finds new possibilities everywhere he goes and brings home pockets full of things.
 
My designs combine a variety of media, depending on the inspiration I find in the objects with which I start. I add glass beads, wire wrapping, other metal findings. The results are interesting and unique, and no two pieces are exactly the same.
 
I have 2 favorite pieces – a note holder and a pair of earrings.
 
The note holder is the light metal with blue aqua glass beads and copper wire wrapping. I love it because have no clue what the metal piece is, and I was able to use as the base for the note holder. I also like the combination copper wire and blue beads very much—it seems to come to me at all times.

​The earrings are also a blue tone with copper wire. The nails were found by my husband and I when we were hiking, and they were both crooked the same way. The beads were bought in Brazil in one of my last trips in a second-hand store that sells a lot of jewelry.

The show theme is what I do – I create jewelry and décor objects that connect function and form, utilizing the antique beauty of objects found while hiking in Colorado.
 
Website – www.jewelrybymana.com
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jewelrybymana
Etsy store - https://www.etsy.com/shop/JewelrybyMana
Kuttlefish store - https://kuttlefish.com/shops/jewelrybymana
 
 
 
Joanne Lucey
I have always loved art and painting, and my grandfather drew and painted watercolors. More recently I have begun to create pieces using found objects and things that might normally be discarded. I have also taken up pottery and acrylic painting.
 
I enjoy neighborhood walks and keep an eye out for items that are being thrown away. I have also remodeled several homes and think about reusing items where possible rather than sending them to the landfill. The banjo neck from 'Banjo Clock' was a found item a couple of years ago. The body is a ceiling fan housing from my former house in Texas, and the clock face is from a light fixture from my new home here in Colorado Springs. There are also parts from an old phone, watch strap, TV and vintage labeling machine. It can take months or years to source components and then decide the best way to use them. Once I came up with the concept of a clock, the assembly took only a few days.

'Banjo Clock' is a play on words. A banjo clock is a type of traditional clock in the shape of a banjo. My piece goes a step further as it is actually a clock made from (parts of) a banjo. Literally everything on it is reused/recycled. 
 
I had already created several recycled art pieces when I saw the call for entries. Commonwheel has some incredible artists and pieces, so it is an honor to be included in the show.


Watch for the 3rd installment of this blog post!

​We asked the artists selected for our “Recycled Art” Show the following questions:
 
1)In a short paragraph, tell us about yourself
2)With your recycled materials, tell us about your process. Walk us through the steps to achieve one of your works from sourcing the materials to completing the work for display or use.
3)What is your favorite piece for sale at this event? And why? 
4)What has inspired you to apply for this show? 
5)Where can we find your work: website, social media, local stores.
 
 
What follows are responses we received and images of some of the work you’ll see in this show.
 
 
Lynn Beckner
It all started at my daughter's Wedding Shower when I created 4 gifts: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue. For the “something old”, I found an old skeleton key. I put it on a chain and called it the Key to Happiness. Little did I know then that the Key to Happiness was meant for me too!
 
A short time later, I looked around the garage and realized just how many construction materials either end up in a landfill or are just sitting around in everyone’s garages collecting dust. Suddenly, every latch, hinge, drawer pull, keyhole, plumbing elbow, washer and wing nut was calling to me, begging to be upcycled!
 
That was 7 years ago, and I’ve never stopped being inspired. My Key to Happiness comes from allowing my customers to experience quality handcrafted jewelry from recycled hardware and feel good about their environmentally-conscious choices. Saving the Planet one piece of hardware at a time!
 
The production process starts with a creative vision of what a piece of attractive recycled hardware jewelry could be. Some of the recycled materials I use are: Vintage Garter Hooks, Fishing Lures, Latches & Hinges, Drawer Pulls, Vintage Dog Tags, Snaps, Hooks & Eyes, Shade Pulls and Saddle Hardware. All of these materials are hand-picked by me and not mass produced.
 
I have a small home studio where I create my products with hand tools. Some materials such as drawer pulls require the use of a grinder and a drill to create smooth edges and chain attachment holes. All of this labor is done by me and not outsourced. Recycled hardware jewelry is my passion and all this labor is pure therapy for me!
 
My favorite piece for sale at the Recycled Art Show has to be the Antique Garter Strap Necklace and Earring Set. Let’s face it, these recycled vintage garter hooks represent a time when holding up your nylon stockings was complicated and tortuous.

​My Boomer customers find the garter hook jewelry a welcome upcycle from their original purpose. These garter hook pendants and earrings are handmade with 1 cup of mid-century nostalgia and a tablespoon of naughty!
 
Did you know that metal can take thousands of years to biodegrade in a landfill? Every day Americans discard tons of hardware, often simply because it doesn’t match their furnishings! 
 
Savvy Reclamation’s inspiration comes from a need to promote sustainability and prevent usable hardware from ending up in landfills. My most rewarding moments come when my customers are drawn to a piece on display that they saw from a distance. Then when I tell them what the piece is recycled from, they love it even more!
 
I am a local Colorado Artist and run a Woman-owned business called Savvy Reclamation. You can find my unique recycled hardware jewelry designs at the Olive Tree Traders in Old Colorado City. I have an Etsy Shop and a Handmade at Amazon shop on the web. Follow my Savvy Reclamation Facebook page to see my 2018 Events Schedule. Ask me to make a custom piece for you!
 
Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/SavvyReclamation/
Handmade at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/handmade/Savvy-Reclamation/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SavvyReclamation
Twitter https://twitter.com/SavyReclamation
 
 
 
Laura Bornhoft
I have been crocheting since my grandmother taught me when I was a little girl. My interest was reignited my freshman year in college when someone in my dorm held a crochet class. Crochet and knitting are my happy place, my therapy, and my social outlet. Quality yarn can get expensive, so reclaiming yarn from other projects and sweaters is an economical way to use nice fibers.
 
Aside from some supporting features, my work is made from yarn reclaimed from sweaters found at thrift stores. I generally choose sweaters made from cotton or wool, as these fibers are easier for me to work with. Sweaters must have the seams sewn together instead of serged since serging cuts the yarn into short, unusable lengths. After taking the sweater pieces apart, I ball the yarn, and it is ready for use.
 
I used a few different crochet techniques to make these fascinators. With the green fascinator, I used freeform crochet. The white fascinator is made of three triangular doily shapes seamed together. The beige fascinator is comprised of Irish crochet style motifs. The pieces of the fascinators were wet blocked with fabric stiffener, then assembled once dried.
 
My favorite piece is the beige fascinator. I have a special appreciation for the art of Irish crochet, and I feel the motifs on this fascinator are a beautiful example of that.

​The most important thing I learned at a past gallery show I was a part of is that I should not be afraid to push myself. This call for entry gave me a great excuse to do just that.
 
My pieces are generally not for sale because I create for the enjoyment of creating. I often share my work on Instagram and Facebook.
 
 
Tom Conter
I have been a woodworker all of my life, even during my active 35-year business manager and consultant phase. I made my earliest furniture starting in 1973 because my wife and I needed furnishings in our early married life. I discovered live edge or natural edge woods about four years ago, and I have been hooked ever since. This style incorporates the natural edge of the wood into the design of the piece making each one unique. Once I discovered live edge wood, I knew that I could start crafting unique products for craft fairs and art galleries.
 
Most wood harvested in Colorado ends up as firewood. However, there are sawmills in Colorado that save the trees for a more beneficial use. All of the woods, which I personally choose, have been responsibly harvested along the Colorado Front Range from dead or dying old growth. My main sawmill is in Ft. Lupton, CO, and while I buy most of my wood there, I also go through the debris pile. Sawmills toss the bark and outer cuts into a pile for locals to use as fire kindling. I have found some of my most interesting, recycled pieces in this way.
 
The choice of materials is really the key. I try to find pieces of wood with unique colors, shapes, patterns and grains. At times I know exactly what I will make; with other pieces, I store the wood in my garage until I get inspiration. Most of the wood that I use is only rough cut, so a lot of physical labor goes into bringing out the richness of the wood. If the bark is still on the piece, I decide whether to keep all or part of it or remove it totally. The insects that thrive on live trees live just under the bark. By removing the bark, you can see the homes, tunnels and feeding areas of these insects on the "live edge".
 
While I try to maintain the natural look, most of the wood has to be cut to size for the table or hanging that I am making. I have three different electric saws that I use for this process. Then, using two different electric sanders, I start a long smoothing process. I will change the grit of sandpaper five to eight times, moving from the toughest to the finest grits. Along the way, I repair damage like cracks or holes with the sawdust from the same wood and glues. Some pieces incorporate gem stone inlay to repair damaged knots or to repair cracks. I normally use chrysocolla or turquoise for this process. Other areas of insect damage such as small holes or tunnels are left alone as a "distressed" look and feel. When I am pleased with the smoothness, I apply finishes to protect the wood. I use a combination of oils that bring out the richness of the colors, grains and patterns in the wood.
 
For my tables, I order steel legs made by one-person shops around the country. These crafters utilize either recycled steel or new, U.S. steel.
 
The Maple Burl Cluster Accent Table has the most unique wood I have ever used. Pulled out of the debris pile, it was covered with dirt and sawdust. However, I knew from the edges that there were burls in this piece. A burl is a deformed growth both in the interior and exterior where it is filled with small knots from dormant buds. The burls produce interior pressure that forms unique swirling patterns and colors. The piece for this table top has seven separate burls that produced this truly unique piece.

I have visited Commonwheel for years, as well as attending their arts and crafts show over Labor Day weekend.
 
I regularly check the websites of galleries which I respect looking for relevant shows. I was lucky enough to find this one. Since almost all of the wood that I use is recycled, I knew that I wanted to enter this show.
 
My main site is on Facebook where I post all of my new work and where it is going:  www.facebook.com/LiveEdgeWoodcraftsColorado/
 
I have been represented at 45 Degree Gallery in Old Colorado City, 2528 West Colorado Ave. for the last 2-1/2 years. I am also a member of the 40 West Arts District in Denver metro, and I exhibit at their gallery frequently: 40 West Art Gallery, 1560 Teller St, Lakewood, CO 80214.
 
 
 
Stephanie Gamez
I grew up in Manitou, my husband (Kirk Gamez) and I along with our 2 children (Kaleb Games and Joshua Stewart) went to Manitou schools. My mother Georgia Edmondson was a water-colorist and encouraged me though out my childhood. After attending Colorado Institute of Art in the early 80's I have worked for several large corporations as a graphic designer. I worked at Hewlett-Packard for 10 years before moving to Current. I then switched from graphic design to primarily web design and have a free-lance business at present doing both graphic and web design. I started painting about 8 months ago and have found it very therapeutic. We live in such a beautiful area, I have enjoyed sharing it with my art.
 
After being given some old windows a friend and my sister-in-law suggested I paint pictures on them. When I paint, I have to paint backwards on the frame, so the front side is the clean side of the glass. It's a little tricky.
 
The piece I love and is attached and is one of the first frames I painted on. I love the color combination- the original red painted frame with Pikes Peak.

I have always loved Commonwheel—wonderful works of art! I am very honored to be chosen for this show!
 
I am on Etsy, but I will have a website soon.
 
 
 
Duff Glass
I'm a life-long artist. I am now retired, but I worked in video production for 35 years. I have always worked with oil and acrylic paint and worked with wood—both new and rescue for the past 10 years.
 
I seek out materials everywhere—on the curb as I walk the dogs; in yard sales; at music and antique stores; I've even tried ads in Craigslist. Over the years I’ve accumulated various handles, knobs and trim bits and I let the main component of the piece guide which direction it's metamorphosis will take. 
 
The Colorado jewel box is my favorite of the two because it's more colorful and since its 3D it took more work.

I really appreciate recycled and upcycled art, and I am very glad that Commonwheel is highlighting this medium. So naturally I wanted to contribute!
 
I'm not very good at sales and marketing, so I don't have a website or anything. I just try to find shops and sales which might appeal to folks quirky enough to like my work. 
 
 
 
Kay Hall
While working as a health care professional for many years, I have had many affairs with different arts and crafts. I was always on the lookout for the one that would captivate and challenge me—my one true love that would balance out my very left-brained, non-creative chosen profession.
 
I’ve found all this and more with glass, and along with my newly empty nest, I’m experiencing a Renaissance.
 
My current body of work includes small glass mosaic pieces (light switch covers) and fused glass work utilizing recycled glass (tempered glass shelving, automobile glass, shower doors, etc.). I love the green aspect of using “glass with a past”. They take on a renewed life and character of their own. Each piece is individually designed in my Colorado studio with special attention to color, flow and functionality.
Whether I’m working on a mosaic piece, or trusting the kiln gods with a fused glass creation, I am learning to appreciate the magic and alchemy that transform a simple material that had been headed for the landfill, into a glorious piece of art.
 
For my fused glass pieces, my goal is to never actually pay for glass, and with so much going to landfill every year, that's not very difficult to achieve. I have been known to pick up glass by the side of the road left on trash day and my neighbors know me as their local dumpster diver. I have come home on occasion to find pieces of glass on my front porch. I also have a brother who restores classic cars and he saves me rear windows. My favorite way to source glass is to go to a junkyard and bash out windows with a sledge hammer. Talk.about.therapy. Trust me, at that point it becomes performance art as well.
 
When I get the glass home, it's cleaned and left to dry. After that, it's just a matter of finding the right mold (I am currently experimenting with making my own from paper clay), loading the kiln, and saying a prayer to the kiln gods. Some of my pieces take one firing (approximately 13-16 hours in the kiln), and some take 2 firings (30-40 hours in the kiln). After that there is cold-working and possibly epoxying if I'm joining pieces together that I can't actually fuse in the kiln.
 
The bases for the light switch covers are usually found at a Goodwill store or a Habitat for Humanity Restore. Most of the glass I use came from another artist who wasn't doing stained glass anymore and needed to get rid of it. I gladly took it off her hands. The process I use is mosaic, meaning the pieces are glued on and then grouted. I can do any color, and any configuration. They make wonderful house warming gifts and new baby gifts. They turn out to be little pieces of jewelry for your walls.
 
My favorite piece in the show is the large blue bowl. It was made from a former computer desk that I found by the side of the road for the trash man to pick up. At first I thought it was a smoky color, but after I got it home and started working on it, I realized it was a gorgeous tealy blue color. It melts beautifully in the kiln, and I have made several pieces with it.

​I was inspired to apply to this show because it was a perfect fit for the type of work I do.
 
My work can also be found at Shadow Mountain Gallery www.shadowmountaingallery.com in downtown Evergreen. My website is www.IndigoMesaGlassworks.com, and on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/indigomesaglassworks/


This is post 1 of 3. More artists and their work will be featured in the next 2 articles!

by Nancy Lindenmier
 
We have been with the Commonwheel Artists Co-op since April 2017.
We would like to see people be carried away to a happy place while looking though our scopes.
Each kaleidoscope is decorated differently and depends solely on how the piece speaks to me as it unfolds.
 
I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Colorado. My first passion was for watercolors inspired by a tropical scene that hung in my grandmother's house and now hangs in my home. From the time I could pickup a crayon I tried to recreate that picture and have been painting ever since. I've been in numerous juried shows around Colorado over the years. I have dabbled with pottery, raku and jewelry with a fair amount of success, but landed on my real passion by serendipitous chance when on vacation in Arizona.

While we were taking the scenic route between Prescott and Sedona, we stopped in an old copper mining town clinging to the side of a mountain called Jerome, Arizona for Alan to get a cup of coffee. Since I don't drink coffee I crossed the street and discovered an amazing shop called Nellie Bly's. We spent the next three hours fascinated by the glorious, colorful and magical world of kaleidoscopes of all shapes and sizes from one inch to five feet tall. We have taken several classes that have been offered each year since then and have fallen in love with the magic of kaleidoscopes. They are not only beautiful, but fun to make.

We feel that the kaleidoscope promotes healing, decreases stress, helps focus, calms the body and the mind. In the late 1980's and 1990's, teachers reported that hyperactive students that looked through a scope for just two minutes had greater attention spans for up to two hours. Those teachers reported that this simple activity lowered blood pressure, heart rate and excitability levels.   

Basically, if you don't like what you see, a simple turn will bring another wonderful image into view. No two scopes are the same as each has different colors inside or out and each one also enjoys a variety of materials and enhancements that could never be copied exactly. Each kaleidoscope prompts new ideas and creative directions to travel that are as exciting to make as they are to view.

​Currently, we are able to seriously pursue our art and reconnect with the Colorado Springs Art Community. We are enjoying getting involved with other like-minded artists and meeting new people. We are also taking great pleasure in the camaraderie and support from a group that understands the creative process, as well as the fun and challenge of doing something you love.
 
Our work is only available in the Commonwheel Artists Co-op.
 
 
We are currently exploring upcycling items into kaleidoscopes as well as some larger pieces. Here is a photo of the latest scope in the new upcycled series.