Blog Give Away! International Blog Action Day 2010

Water. The life blood of all living things. Water. We drink it, wash in it, use it to grow our food, keep animals and to manufacturer goods. If you are one of the fortunate that is. For many water is scarse and for some what is available is filthy and carries disease. Incase you havn't guessed...the topic of water is the theme for this years International Blog Action Day. Water is not a limitless resource. It dosn't just fall from the sky. Rain is made when all the elements are in the right balance and us humans often upset that balance. It has as much importance to our well-being as air does and we need to use what we get responsibly. This is not a lecture(!) in fact I want use this post to celebrate!

My take on the water topic is about recycling. Recycling uses water in the re-manufacture of goods but it uses less water than creating a brand-new item using all new materials. For the most part I'm talking to the already converted. I'm really pleased about that!  I want to use this post to highlight some artists who use recycled materials in their art. It's my way of saying "THANKYOU" for making the world a better place, for me, for my children and the generations to come. I've also got a little give away going on...

Recycled/repurposed teatowel, ladies handkerchief (clean!) silk scarf,net curtain, 

fabric scraps, second-hand shop lace and ribbon, cotton doilie, white beads from an old necklace,

second-hand blue beads and netting. Hand stitched and attached to a piece of heavy cardboard recovered from an old book. 

The inverted triangle is the symbol for water. It's been a fun challenge to incorporate a triangle into my work which usually features curves not straight lines!

I'm almost a stranger to the colour blue but I enjoyed the challenge of creating this water themed fabric collage. It's also the first fabric collage I've done, not including the work done in our Pulp Redux books! If you want to go in the draw to win the collage just leave me a comment to that effect:) Winners will be announced October 23rd.

So here's my list of water saving earth heroes! No award, just an honorary mention. I dosn't really matter if the intent of these artists is to save water (not saying it's not there intent though!) because the result is the same.They 'do good' and deserve a pat on the back!

In no particular order ....

THE EARTH HEROES LIST!

Lisa Jurist

(Lisa turns found objects, recycled or repurposed fabrics and metals into stunning mixed media works)

Kerin Gale

(Anyone who can turn a washed up light bulb into a things of beauty deseves an actual medal!)

Jasmine

(Beautiful dyes made from natural and earth-friendly sources)

Seth Apter

(Repurposed rusty things, charms and...hands ofcourse! Who knew so many could be found and salvaged!)

Debrina Ewen-Price

(Many beautiful picture frames, papers and fabrics have been rescued by Debrina.)

Caterina Giglio

(In her art many pre-loved and vintage fabrics and images given new life in many forms.)

Alicia Caudle

(Repurposed fabrics, rusty things, old x-rays and pre-loved buttons and lace to name just a few...)

Kim Palmer

(Such beautiful fabrics, beads and even the odd belt buckle have been made even more beautiful by Kim!)

Robyn Gordan

(Carved totems and panels featuring found objects and rusty things! Robyn also gets bonus points for highlighting so many artists using recycled materials.)

I've only given a very brief over-view of these artists, please follow the links and check them out for yourself! Lots of lovely things to see!