recycled metal fish

i am here on the hazy hot outer banks of north carolina in a rented beach house with friends this week, and i am going to do my best to see if i can find these recycled trash fish in the ocean. i probably won’t find them though, since they’re from the mind (and local dumpsters) of california artist rodney rodrigo mccoubrey.

as you can see i really like the ones with identifiable labels.

see these pieces and swim around his website here.

via haute*nature

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susan graham sculpture: miniview

i thoroughly enjoy the thoughtful construction and loose style of these metal animal sculptures from new york artist susan graham. her handmade menagerie is created from the idea of a three dimensional drawing, with a single continuous strand of steel or copper wire used for as long as possible for stability. special attention is addressed toward the character, gestures and expression of each animal, which makes it difficult to choose a favorite! ever curious to know more about the brains behind the operation, i asked susan three quick questions…

q: how did you get into making these sculptures?
a: i made a wire animal a long time ago as an art assignment. a teacher brought in a live rooster in a cage (this was in ohio, where i’m from) and asked us to use wire as a medium and capture the character of the rooster.

q: do you have an art background?
a: i do have an art background. i had started school in chemistry at ohio state university and then switched to art-sculpture and photography - because that’s what i had always wanted to do. i moved to new york city and started a degree at the school of visual arts, but did not finish. i was afraid of getting too much in debt and not being able to afford an art studio here. i have a whole other art career besides the wire animals - i show at a gallery in chelsea called schroeder romero.

q: what inspires you to create?
a: i am not sure what prompts my desire to create, but it is constant - a basic need. i do my art, i sew clothes sometimes, i make the wire pieces, i like to make cakes. it just seems to be built in.

susan will be exhibiting in future tense: reshaping the landscape at the neuberger museum from may 11th - july 20th, 2008. be sure to see her etsy shop for her wonderful collection (or to commission your favorite animal), and go here to see some of her photographs from a recent exhibition she had at the philip morris branch of the whitney.

thank you susan!

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bottle cap mosaic art by john unger

okay, okay, one last blast with the upcycling and then i will be quiet. look at the beautiul details of these folksy mosaic fish from michigan artist john unger. they’re carefully and obsessively made of bottle caps, with select metal accents.

purchase the fish and see more sustainable design work at john’s etsy shop. be sure to check his blog out too for much, much more!

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