Where ever they come from, the modern world is heavily dependent on petrocarbons for fuel and energy, fertilisers and the production of over 6000 other uses including the huge variety of plastics on which we all depend for packaging, insulation and building materials, to name a few. You’d have to be living under a rock to not be aware that disposing of the world’s rubbish, of which plastics are a large portion, is the greatest environmental problem today. Large amounts of plastic waste are swirling around in rivers and streams that eventually make their way to the oceans. Everywhere along the way plastic bags, rings, lids, containers and other items endanger animals, birds and fish, and foul fishing nets. It is true that increasing amounts are being recycled, particularly in advanced countries where considerable advances have been made with salvaging and recycling projects resulting in road sealing materials, outdoor furniture and play equipment for civic parks and gardens, fencing, building cladding, new packaging materials, and many kinds of fabrics for both clothing and upholstery. But, as I say, that still leaves a lot of raw material for creative people to make things with.
A quick google brings up pages of links to many artists using salvaged plastic as their chief raw material, and one could spend many enjoyable days researching this topic. However, I don’t have to look far for such artists with whom I am very familiar.
The first is Jessica Grady, a UK embroiderer who uses packaging materials+stitch to create her richly coloured and embroidered surfaces. I was privileged to take a StitchClub workshop with her in 2021 that really inspired me – and looking back through my posts then, I re-discovered this photo, which I’d completely forgotten –
I found other pics of samples I did around that time, too, reminding me to re-visit the whole idea of trapping this lovely shiny mylar stuff and fabrics between layers of plastic for what Jessica Grady calls ‘sequins’.
While browsing around Instagram this week I discovered an inspiring artist, Imogen Williams who’s doing wonderful things with recycled plastic water bottles; and her work reminds me to seriously consider getting the heat gun that’s been on my mind a while.
Next is a Uruguayan artist here in Montevideo, Felipe Macqueira and this website page takes you to one of his fabulous works fashioned with modern technology and application of heat, and his materials list and statement give insight to his inspiration from that symbolic woodprint The Great Wave from the C19 Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. For stitchy fibreart people like myself, the rest of his website with more examples, and his studio too, are tremendously inspiring.
Another artist is Margery Goodall of Perth Western Australia, a good friend since we met in Kalgoorle WA in the 1980s. Back then she was very involved in Kalgoorlie’s quilting group, the Patchwork Pollies, and eventually I took her suggestion and learned traditional patchwork and quilting, QED. Always one to push technical and materials boundaries, this interesting work is one of many recent works in which her traditional patchwork and quilting background provides clear grid design structure for works expressing her concerns for the impact of throwaway plastic items on the environment; and a visit to this post on WAFTA West Australian Fibre Textile Artist site contains further examples and statements.
