It took me a while to develop an idea for my upcycled project. My primary drawback was coming up with what recycled material to use. I first thought I wanted to do something with wood, so as I explored ideas, two designs stood out. First was this rustic wooden mosaic which was posted by Taylor Wittwer embodying the rustic aesthetic
I love anything with a wood aesthetic, but what drew me more to this was the unique geometry and texture of the mosaic. This led me to look at layered or topography art.
The layered colors and simple shapes create a bigger, aesthetically pleasing image. I figured I could use the laser cutter to cut out cardboard, acrylic, wood, or maybe colored cardstock to create a cool geometric pattern or figure or maybe even a map of a location like the one of Hawaii below. So I knew I wanted some 3D aspect in my upcycling project.
I landed on a textured skiing portrait. This uses a canvas, some plaster, and some paint to recreate the scene of a ski slope. I saw this on TikTok once a year ago and thought of it while exploring the other 3D options. I think it is a unique use of a construction material to simulate the look and texture of a ski slope.
This portrait uses a textured art aesthetic. A textured art aesthetic uses materials and techniques that give an artwork a three-dimensional quality, where the piece’s surface becomes a key part of the visual experience. Instead of being completely smooth or flat, textured art has physical depth and feels more dynamic because of its tactile nature. The skiing portrait uses plaster to achieve this texture. The plaster creates raised areas that mimic the feel of snow or the contours of a ski slope. Combined with paint, it can further enhance the illusion of depth, as light and shadow interact with the textured surface in interesting ways. This technique contrasts with flat, smooth artwork because it invites a more sensory experience. Painting can be given depth through color choice the addition of shadows and lighting, overlapping elements, and perspective. But textured pieces are unique in the sense that the depth comes from the texture.
Similarly to the mosaic the aesthetic comes from the texture produced from the combination of materials.
The Materials are pretty simiple. Just a canvas, some plaster and paint. While this might not be neccasarrlily upcycled these are materials I have in my house either for patchwork, or left over art supplies from other projects. I like the idea of using plaster as it’s a unique medium to create a textured image.
References
[1] Wood Mosaic [2]Ocean Topography Map [3]Laser Cut Skull [4] Hawaii Layered Topography Map [5]Ski art reference
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The final product examples you shared look really beautiiful and I am excited to see your spin on the project. It terms of making the project more upcycled focus were there any places listed by Professor that you could find recycled materials you may need? Could the canvas or backing of the art piece be sourced from some form of recycling? I think these considerations will give more relation between the idea of upcycling and your project idea. Best of luck! I can’t wait to see