Scraps and Found Materials as Art

I don’t know what led to my appreciation of used and worn-out things. It may have come from growing up in New England in a house full of antiques, or in an environment where there was always enough (if not too much). Whatever it was, it led to my reluctance to throw things away if they might ever have any use at all, and it led me to acquire a collection of things such as rusty washers, stones, small pieces of fabric, thread, old tee shirts, paper bits, cell phone pieces, among all sorts of other things. Imagine my joy when I realized that I could put these things together into assemblages. I don’t call them collages because I don’t often use glue (coller is French for "to glue") but that is how I think of them. I simply get joy out of putting things together.

Good Cheer With a Tail

In 2020 I found it soothing to put together small strips from my scrap collection. I subsequently found other materials to enhance them.

fabric, paper, machine and hand stitching

11″ x 14″

Detail:

Huddled Masses – Crossing the Red River

Having acquired linen scraps from a frame shop, I began rolling them and attaching them to slats from a broken chair. This was done in 2016 when immigration was a contentious subject, thus ‘Huddled Masses.’ This piece was put together in 2023 and includes a piece of African cloth. It still seems relevant.

linen, thread, acrylic medium, cloth, wood

20” x 20″

Detail: