Back in the day, the City of New Orleans measured the success of Mardi Gras by the amount of garbage left to scoop off Bourbon Street on Ash Wednesday. But even the excesses of Carnival season are becoming more eco-friendly, slowly.

An estimated 22 million pounds of cheap plastic beads, most of them imported from China, are tossed to crowds lined up for the pre-Lenten parades. Only about 2 percent of those are recycled, but Arc Enterprises in New Orleans is working to increase that ratio. It places recycling bins along the parade routes and its “Catch and Release” trailer follows some of the floats.

Revelers are also encouraged to toss their throws back into the trailer for recycling and resale to next year’s float riders. Last year the organization, which employs the disabled, sorted through 100,000 pounds of reclaimed beads.

“My Beauty Underneath” by Stephan Wanger is 88" x 66" and created with 60,000 reused Mardi Gras beads glued to a trashed front door.

Artist Stephan Wanger knows just what to do with a lot of those beads: He created the world’s largest mosaic ever made entirely out of the colorful little baubles. “Sanctuary of Alegria — Home of Happiness” is 8 feet tall and 30 feet wide, and contains more than a million individual recycled Mardi Gras beads. The mosaic, which depicts the New Orleans skyline, took over 14 months to assemble, with help from volunteers. It will be auctioned off in March to raise funds for the Lower Ninth Ward, devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Detail of Wanger’s “Sanctuary of Alegria” created to mark the 200th anniversary of Louisiana’s statehood as the 18th state in the Union.

Wanger has been creating works of art from recycled beads with a mission – to help rebuild the city – since 2005. He also teaches classes in his Galeria Alegria on Magazine Street in New Orleans.

There’s even a new krewe that brings the green message to the parades themselves. Made up of local performance and visual artists, The Ancient Krewe of Kolossos paraded for the first time on Feb. 16, with a host of bicycle-powered floats, marching bands, street performers and eco-friendly handmade floats.

Laissez bon temps rouler!

I first became conscious of altered books 12 years ago when a graphic artist friend, Sue, told me she was creating them. She pointed out it is O.K. to reuse old, unwanted books, which are, unfortunately, in ample supply.

Books become obsolete — unreadable through wear and tear, or simply outdated. Sue took only the ones that “spoke to her” in the pile her library threw out each year.

I cringe to think of my contributions to the orphan-book pile: the tech manuals for WordPerfect and other extinct technologies, last year’s phonebooks, and old one-volume encyclopedias that I must re-home or send to ruin periodically as I make room in my library for new titles. It’s tough for readers, but great for artists — free supplies.

Since then, I have been looking for exhibits of altered books in galleries and museums.

Turns out the term is very broad. It refers to any artwork that changes the appearance of a book and/or its function or meaning. The change can be minute — the artist can change just one page — or transformational (for instance, combining several books to form a sculpture).

Anything goes in altering books. Techniques include cutting, gluing, painting, rubber stamping, changing the shape, among others. Here are a few artists using books as their medium — the tip of the iceberg, or a blurb for the back cover, if you will.

Chen Long-Bin prefers to work with out-of-date books, magazines and phonebooks. He uses a buzz saw to transform these information-saturated materials into detailed sculptures that are exhibited internationally.

“One Buddha, Two Systems (New York)” by Chen Long-Bin. Mixed media sculpture with Chinese and English New York Yellow Pages. 43 x 28 x 28 cm. 2008.

Georgia Russell is a Scottish artist who dissects printed matter, music scores, maps, newspapers and photographs into what she calls “membranes of memories.” Her work is seen internationally and included in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s permanent collection.

“Cut Book in a Bell Jar” by Georgia Russell. 17.5" high. 2007.

“Cut Book Jacket in an Acrylic Case” by Georgia Russell 13.75" x 11.75" x 4".

Brian Dettmer started out as a painter. When he worked in a sign shop, he began to explore the relationship between text and images and eventually started working with old books in 2000. Today he works with older dictionaries, encyclopedias, textbooks, wallpaper sample books, comic books and other printed materials. “The book’s intended function has decreased and the form remains linear in a non-linear world,” he said. “By altering physical forms of information and shifting preconceived functions, new and unexpected roles emerge….”

“New International Dictionary, 2003” by Brian Dettmer 12" x 9" x 7".

Alex Queral creates mostly celebrity 3-D portraits from bound phone books, using only an X-acto knife and acrylic paint. The faces are often painted with a monochromatic wash to separate the image from the printed background page, which remains untouched. Queral said that he is “celebrating the individual lost in the anonymous list of thousands of names.” The sculpture is then sealed with acrylic to preserve the work.

“Albert Einstein” and “Barack Obama” by Alex Queral.

And, on the practical side, Kara Witham is one of several people who offer hollowed-out book safes for sale on the web, at her Etsy store.

“Hollow Book Safe & Flask - The Odyssey” by Kara Witham.

For further information about these artists, check these websites.

• Chen Long-Bin
• Alex Queral
• Karra Whitham
• Georgia Russell

The way we receive information is changing. Some friends have completely abandoned hardcover books for e-books; others have never read a book in electronic form, and yet others have collections of both. Our public libraries increasingly offer patrons a choice of formats.

With the rapid development of technology, I think this was bound to happen. Books have been around for millennia — in essentially the same form for six centuries — and as a painting teacher once told our class, “The only constant in design is change.”

The relationship of artists to written communication has also changed. In the past, the destruction of a book meant the destruction of the information it contained. But when anyone can carry a library in his or her luggage, designers and artists are beginning to view bound, printed pages as art supplies. Several artists are exploring ways to keep books from landfills and preserve their shelf life.

Jim Rosenau takes that challenge literally. The son and grandson of book publishers, Rosenau was raised in a house with 5,000 books.  He is now a carpenter, comedy writer and software developer living in California, but he is perhaps best known for creating furniture — including bookshelves — from discarded hardbacks and salvaged lumber.

Shelf made from a set of three dictionaries by Jim Rosenau.

“Who Done It?” Shelf made from three carefully selected abandoned books by Jim Rosenau.

Bookcase made from rescued books by Jim Rosenau.

While majoring in 3D Design in college, British artist Laura Cahill kept track of the number of objects discarded within a mile radius of her school. In response to her findings, she began a collection, “Readable Furniture,” made from recycled books.  “I am fascinated in reusing objects in a way that gives them a new life,” she said.

Vase made from old books by Laura Cahill. The spines are wrapped around test tubes so that the vases don't get damaged when they are filled with water.

Table and lamp from old books by Laura Cahill.

The Dutch firm Bomdesign offers several sculptural reading lamps made from reclaimed books, and creates boxes from other recycled materials to ship them to clients throughout the world. Lamp sizes vary, depending on the size of the original books.

Reading lamps made from old books by Bomdesign.

Furniture made by stacking books has been around for a long time — almost any dorm-dweller can do it without special training. In college I made bookshelves by stacking out-of-date textbooks between custom-cut boards.

Here are some other designs that take this technique to the next level.

Stacked Book Tables.

When the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands needed a new reference desk, the staff created one from old intact library books.

The reference desk in the Technical University of Delft library.

Closeup view of the library reference desk in Delft.

Learn more about the artists at their websites:  Jim Rosenau, Laura Cahill and Atelier Bomdesign.

Rag rugs were the first American-made rugs. Between mending clothes, sewing patchwork quilts, and making rugs, the colonials found a new use for every scrap of precious fabric.

Today, some fiber artists continue to work with these utilitarian techniques to preserve American traditional arts. Others are creating rag rugs to divert fabric from the landfill as well. It’s estimated that each U.S. family sheds 68 pounds of unwanted clothing and upholstery into the landfill each year.

Weaver Chris Gustin started making potholders when she was a child. To hone her weaving skills, she took workshops in college and craft schools before developing her own techniques.

Her commitment to weaving with waste fabric began in 1974 when she saw a patchwork “crazy quilt” called “Recycle and Re-use” at Expo, the World’s Fair in Spokane, Washington.

Chris Gustin's rugs woven from waste selvages produced during the weaving of fabric for upholstery and clothing.

“It made me think about what I could do to help the environment,” Gustin said, and she said began exploring new ways to weave with waste materials. She used supplies from thrift shops, sock factories, bedding manufacturers, weaving mills and scrap dealers.

Her work now diverts about a ton of industrial waste fabrics a year from the landfill into rugs, clothing, and home accessories. Gustin also teaches others how to work with unconventional supplies and find scrap materials for weaving in her studio in Brown County, Indiana.

Crispina ffrench has been reworking used clothing into one-of-a-kind new clothing, rugs, pillows and other useful things since 1987, when she sold her work from a backpack at music festivals. She bought supplies — old sweaters and t-shirts — from Goodwill stores throughout the Northeast.

Demand grew and she expanded by hiring homemakers and caretakers in her western Massachusetts town to create new stock.

Stone Soup Potholder Rug, made from 100% post consumer used wool sweaters by Crispina ffrench.

In 2008, when 40 people were creating new pieces for her, she closed her business to take care of her two younger children, now pre-teens. She taught workshops, wrote a book, and today sells some products which she makes in her spare time, on Etsy. Ffrench is also working on a commission from the Eileen Fisher Co. to create useful products from worn, unusable clothing returned to corporate headquarters in Irvington, New York.

Ffrench's Dino Ragamuffin doll hand sewn from recycled wool sweaters and stuffed with natural raw mohair.

“It is my hope to inspire and bring to light the value and vastness of discarded material in our culture,” ffrench said.

She also offered a unique tip for cleaning her rag rugs: On a fresh layer of snow.

“Spread the dirty rug out and walk all over it (don’t wear muddy boots!) then flip the rug over a new spot in the fresh snow and do the same,” she said. “This technique pulls all the animal hair, dust bunnies and lint balls off the surface. Spills can be cleaned with a gentle scrubbing brush and soapy water.”

Learn more about these artists at their websites: Chris Gustin and Crispina ffrench.

I think it’s easier for more of us to buy a new eco-friendly winter hat than other articles of clothing. Green designers are fashioning hats in all shapes and sizes from just a few scraps of cloth otherwise destined for the landfill. Here are a few ageless styles that are eco-chic as well as warm.

BaaBaaZuzu is an omnivore for recycled wool. With the help of brokers throughout the country, the Michigan-based company rescues two tons of unwanted men’s and women’s wool clothing each month. The wool is then turned into felt in specially made washing machines before the Baabaazuzu artisans handcraft it into one-of-a-kind hats, mittens, purses, vests, and scarves.

Pillbox hat and Cloche by BaaBaaZuzu.

Icebox Knitting’s Xob Upcycled collection of unique hats, arm and hand warmers, mittens, bags, toys, and pillows, starts out as discarded wool-blend sweaters and suit jackets. The handcrafters work on antique hand-powered knitting machines in Longmont, Colorado, where they also create the Dohm Collection of rugged mountain headwear, which combines organic virgin wool with recycled linings. Fabric scraps are used for appliques and toy stuffing, and any remaining leftovers are shipped to Tennessee for quilt batting.

Peace Visor hat (left) and Bomber hat (right) from Icebox Knitting's Xob Collection.

Virginia-based Ryan Williamson started his one-man business, The Mouse Works, when he was 14. He buys Malden Mills polar fleece castoffs — seconds or colors that the manufacturers no longer use — from jobbers. Williamson personally hand sews the pieces into hats for babies, youth, and adults. All the fabric scraps from his hat production are used to make more hat parts, skirts, tassels, or to stuff pillows and cuddly pets, which he gives away. In 17 years he has made over 60,000 hats with minimal impact on local landfills. All of his trash from 2010 fit into one trash bag.

Jester hat (upper left), Cloche hat (upper right) and Fleece Dog hat (bottom) by Ryan Williamson.

The Socklady, Marianne Wakerlin, creates socks from recycled cotton, knit at a family-owned mill and hand-finished in Vermont. Each sock has the same pattern and colors in different order so a pair appears “mismatched.” Rejected socks are saved and stitched into one-size patchwork hats that fit most adults. Each is lined with plush fleece to keep the ears warm, and no two are alike.

Hats and scarves from recycled cotton designed by The Socklady.

Visit these sites to view more hats:

• Baabaazuzu
• Dohm Collection
• The Mouse Works
• Sol Mate Socks

San Francisco artist Tuan Tran has never met a piece of trash he couldn’t use to create art. His palette includes old ping-pong balls, baseballs, telephone wire, glass medicine bottles, compact discs, nail polish containers —and more to come, in our throw-away society. Using cast-off materials “makes me feel good,” he said.

Tuan, a credentialed Ikebana teacher for 25 years who has lectured throughout the world on the art of Japanese flower arranging, said he liked to bring surprising elements to his arrangements. He has been creating art from found materials for six years and said that combining recycled materials to “create visions of beauty is not unlike Ikebana, the ancient Japanese tradition of arranging natural materials such as flowers branches, rocks …”

 Here are a few examples of Tuan’s varied styles:

Ping Pong Baseball by Tuan Tran.

Detail of Ping Pong Baseball, constructed of images of players from baseball cards laminated on ping-pong balls, which are then wrapped in thread.

Tuan Tran’s Copper Camillia is made of two layers of recycled copper wire with a camellia woven from recycled copper and brass in the center.

Recently, Tuan began creating dresses from recycled telephone and electrical wire; some include recycled ribbon and lights. They can be used as sculptural art although some pop stars have been spotted wearing them.

Handwoven wire dresses by Tuan Tran.

Visit Tuan Tran’s website to see more of his work and learn about his next fashion show in on September 24.

Now that the garden is planted and growing, it’s a place to lounge and enjoy the view. But as you spend more time outside, along with the birds and bees, you might find bare spots or areas that need a little more texture or color.

People have turned to store bought fountains, flamingos, gnomes and mass-produced statuary to add oomph to gardens and lawns for years. But as the shabby-chic/reuse movement grows, both professional and weekend artists have started creating one-of-a-kind art from reused materials and broken furniture to add a touch of whimsy (and sometimes function) to their space.

Sculptor-turned-mosaic artist Cappi Phillips of Moe’s Ache (say it fast) Studio in Bloomington, Indiana, has developed a lively business creating public and private art by combining classic mosaic techniques with an eye for intriguing castoffs — scrap glass she collects from other artists, dishes from yard sales, and surprises neighbors leave on her front porch because they know she will eventually find a transformational use for them.

“Just Send Love Letters” mailbox by Cappi Phillips.

“Cornholio” by Cappi Phillips. The pig is made from glass, pottery shards, Italian tile and found objects.

Want to try this yourself? Phillips offers this technical tip: Attach glass and ceramic with silicone to hold it to your base. Then use sanded grout to fill in the spaces.

For more how-tos, she also recommends visiting www.Mosaicartists.org, which provides answers and links to artists who offer classes in the mosaic arts.

The web is filled with ideas for repurposing decorative elements into garden art. For example, we found these fun projects online:

An old wagon wheel and various spindles with “anything shiny” attached becomes an eye-catching mobile.

Shutters turn into window boxes.

Feed scoops turned upright and paired with candles in hurricane globes transform into garden lights.

An old drawer attached to a bed footboard is now a windowbox planter.

Tin can flower pots can be attached to a wall. I also put a small succulent in a small tin can as a party favor.

Recycled tires can be turned into plain black planters at home, but they aren't as attractive as some I've found for sale on the web, where you can also find instructions for a D-I-Y version.

See more about Cappi Phillips at her website.

Many ideas for repurposing “junk” at RoboJunker.

Ideas from Better Homes and Gardens, H&G How to decorate a garden.

How to reuse tin cans.

If you have images of repurposed garden furniture you use, please send them our way. We’d love to see them. They might inspire others, too.

This is a story of a bike ride that took Graham Bergh not just to work but to a whole new career. In 1991 Bergh was on his way to his job at a recycling center in Portland, Oregon, when his bike got a flat tire. Not wanting to throw the damaged tire out, he decided to hang speakers on his wall with the punctured tube. It looked good and it worked fine.  Happy with the results, Bergh collected and cleaned other discarded inner tubes to see what else he could make with them. And what he calls ReBicycling was born, to help keep some of the millions of inner tubes discarded each year out of landfills.  

Picture frame made from bicycle chains.

Bottle opener/key chain made from bicycle chains and recycled aluminum.

After he sold his first inner-tube bungee to a national outdoors store, Bergh branched out to design new products from greasy, broken metal bicycle parts that he cleaned by hand with a toothbrush and CitraSolve (R).

These were also well received, and in 1994 Bergh started shipping Resource Revival products from a corner of his bedroom. The company now supplies stores worldwide, although most of its sales are in the United States.

Graham Bergh (left) and Jim Hassert (right) working on a project.

To create items for personal use, and accessories for home and office Resource Revival buys thousands of pounds of broken chains and unwanted parts from bike stores across the country. Most of the work that turns the bits into new and useful objects is completed in the company’s Mosier, Oregon, studio, but some of the bottle openers and bracelets are contracted out to a nearby sheltered workshop.  

While Bergh never intended to become a designer, it was not an impossible career choice. He said he had inherited the “maker gene” from both his mother, an art history major, and his father, an architect and an art dealer who also encouraged him to think independently.

 In keeping with his mission to create innovative products from recycled materials, Resource Revival has expanded to include repurposing computer hard drives, auto parts and ground up tires shaped into sheets, which they use to make faces for clocks.  Visit Eco-Artware.com to see our collection of business card holders, clocks, and bracelets.

We wonder — what further surprises are up Bergh’s sleeve?

While a growing number of craftsmen are working with other people’s discards, Recology, a California resource recovery company, actually pays artists to turn trash into art.

“Crazy Quilt” by Remi Rubel. 1991. Built from bottlecaps and other metal objects.

In 1990 Recology began a unique art and education program. The company selected artists to work full time for four months in a large, well-equipped studio next to its transfer station in San Francisco. The transfer station is located within a 46-acre property that includes several recycling facilities and the public disposal area (aka “the dump”). Most of San Francisco’s garbage  is temporarily stored at this site before moving on to a landfill elsewhere in California.
 
Recology changed its name from Norcal Waste Systems in 2009 to reflect its corporate culture and values. More than a private, employee-owned waste management company, the company wants to encourage people to reuse material, think about new ways to conserve resources, and support local, professional artists.

“Pinkie” by David Hevel. 2009. 2009. 53-1/2" x 78" x 16" Constructed from Disney princess shopping cart, dentures, gift bags, pricess castle, yarn flower trim, pink watch, mirror, tiara, dress, Astroturf, wood armature.

Artists are selected by an advisory board of environmentalists, artists and curators; each recipient receives a $1,000 monthly grant to cover basic personal bills. This year 108 artists competed for six residencies.

“Audrey Hepburn Dress” by Estelle Akamine. 1993. Made from foam sheets, plastic bags, six-pack holders.

At the end of each residency, the company holds a free public reception and exhibition of the artist’s work in the company’s studio. As visitors enter, they are confronted with a mountain of trash — 1,400 tons. They then see how imagination turns discards into meaningful objects. 
 
The artists roam the  public disposal area with shopping carts, collecting different types of trash. One may look for furniture, trinkets, photos and other personal objects, for found object collages, while another looks for raw materials such as wood, painted metal or wire for assemblage.

“3711 x 13510” by Zachary Royer Scholz. 2010. Constructed from pine and paint.

Some of the trash art is exhibited permanently in Recology’s three-acre sculpture garden atop a hill overlooking the San Francisco Bay. The garden is located between the garbage and recycling facilities and the Little Hollywood neighborhood. Many pieces from the program are also exhibited in office buildings, schools and other public or private spaces in the city. The garden is a stop for students on one of the 160 tours held throughout the year. 
 
To learn more, visit the Recology website.

A house guest is arriving and I’m spending time cleaning out my closets as I tidy the apartment. Some of the clothing can be passed on to a thrift shop, but what to do with the stained, frayed and unwearable pieces? 

I don’t want to just throw them out — cloth is a thirsty material to produce. According to the Huffingon Post, it takes 1,800 gallons of water to grow enough cotton to make a pair of jeans and 400 gallons of water to grow the cotton in one t-shirt. 

Here are some suggestions I’ve recently gleaned from cruising the web and re-reading my stash of “how to” ideas. They’re still good alternatives to throwing cloth items away, since, as we all know, there really is no “away.” 

Clothing:

Use men’s shirts as a smock.  

Camilla Fabbri's napkin rings and bottle gift wrap from old shirt cuffs.

Use shirt cuffs for napkin rings and gift wrap (design by Camilla Fabbri) 

Crispina Ffrench's Ball of Seams consisting of seams from old sweaters.

Cut unwearable sweaters apart and put them in the washing machine for a normal cycle to make non-fraying felt for craft projects. Save the seams for other projects. Crispina Ffrench knots the seams together to create a long, colorful cord that can be used for gift wrapping or as a decorative accent. For instance, hang a length on the wall and suspend birthday or holiday banners from it. 

Cut fleece robes, tops and jackets into small narrow strips to make cushy stuffing for pillows or soft toys. 

No-Sew Fleece Tea Cozy.

Creative Jewish Mom makes imaginative scarves, blankets and pillow covers from fleece. In honor of the Royal Wedding, we offer her insturctions for making a No-Sew Fleece Tea Cozy. 

No sew necklace made from an old t-shirt.

Tired of an old t-shirt just the way it is?  Look on a search engine under “no sew projects with t-shirts”  to find how to restyle it, or turn it into jewelry, a scarf, a pillow, a rug — there seem to be new ideas every year.  For starters, here is a way to make a necklace from a t-shirt (Note–it will work best with a smooth fabric–save your ribbed shirts for other projects.)  This lightweight jewelry will look well with summer fabrics.  You could pin a brooch made from a large artificial flower on it for a  more formal look.

Sheets and Towels:

 Donate terry bath towels to animal shelters. 

Use sheets for reusable drop cloths. 

Pillow case gift wrap.

Make a gift bag for tennis rackets, boxed games and other large gifts from a pillow case. All you need is a ribbon or two. If you have other ideas, please let us know. We’d love to share them with the rest of our eco-readers.

Sierra Magazine’s Answer Guy also addressed this question in the May/June issue.  Here are a few more suggestions for keeping your old textiles out of the landfill.  BTW, they say the average American family adds 70 lbs. of textiles to our landfills each year.