Reuse, Recycle

Sparkling clear blue waters in the Cascades

June has been a hectic month for us. A midst all our preparations and sprucing up around our property for our oldest son's wedding to be held here in August, we also managed to squeeze in a trip for the ASGS Symposium that was in Eugene, Oregon. It just so happened to fall on our Anniversary this year, so we were happy to take a break from all the work on the home front, and enjoy the beauty of lush green landscapes, rolling vineyards and breathtaking vistas that Oregon has to offer. We also got to visit family on this trip and went on a beautiful hike in the Cascades with them. The bright blue and crystal clear waters were breathtaking and we couldn't snap enough shots of the beauty surrounding us. What a relaxing and memorable trip, it was so nice to get away for a bit.

When we got home we went right back to business in the Studio, as we were inspired by our trip to Oregon and were eager to get to work on various "recycled" projects. Our relatives wanted us to slump some colorful blue bottles that they will use as spoon rests, or trivets in their kitchen. We also transformed a wine bottle they gave us into a functional hummingbird feeder. Our sister-in-law loves dragonflies, so we slumped and fused some colorful pieces to complete the project. We will continue to create items like these for some outdoor art shows coming up later this summer.

Recycled canning jars can be used as a trivet for your spoons

Recycled wine bottle with glass dragonfly accents is now a hummingbird feeder

Speaking of recycled projects, I wanted to showcase some other items we have created using old sheets of window glass. Our pond light covers were first cut into rectangular shapes, then fused in the kiln with more old glass that had been tumbled in our cement mixer until it took on an etched  and weathered look, like sea glass. These pieces are now lantern covers that accent our pond and give off a nice soft glow in the evenings.

Recycled window glass makes a cute lantern at our pond

Recycled lantern lights giving off a soft glow at twilight

Of course, we have plenty of  tiki torches we recycled from old wine bottles. We have sandblasted designs on them and filled the bottom with small pebbles and then put tiki oil in for a nice effect to enjoy in the back yard during a summer barbecue.

Recycled bottle makes a great tiki torch

Last but not least, the garden stakes below have been my favorite recycled glass project to date. Again, we took old sheets of tinted window glass, cut them down and slumped in the kiln with extra hi-fire shelf primer to give them a textured look. A bonus when we fired in the kiln, is that the dark tint turned a nice light yellow when it cooled down. Then I sandblasted designs on the glass and finished by using glass paint to highlight. These garden stakes will be put to good use in our garden this year. 

Recycled glass turned into garden art

If you just put some imagination into it, "one man's trash" can really turn into "another man's treasure". And in this day and age, it is wise to reuse, recycle. Just like we did with the old fireplace mantel below. We enjoyed working it over to become something else entirely, and serve as a source of  summer entertainment for our backyard  patio. First we stained it, then covered the top in chalkboard paint. While having a cool beverage you can doodle on the surface and play games with chalk. We also added some of our own glass, along with old wine bottles we inserted white lights into, which gave it a lot of character. It's a nice source of entertainment after a long hot day in the studio.

Our recycled patio bar is a fun source of entertainment