I would love to be someone who consistently meditates, but currently that’s not me or my available time. It could be me someday, but in the meantime I’ve found that making marks is my meditation. Its simple, its relaxing, it doesn’t require much thought other than, ‘what color should I use now?’, or ‘what mark feels good next?’
Life seems to get more and more layered and complex the older I get and the more my life changes, so its nice to have a simple thing to escape into. I put on a show and settle in to just work on something simple for a bit and I always feel better afterward. There’s something about making progress on things that don’t have any impact on anyone or anything else. Just doing something because you enjoy it and it brings you joy.
I do this meditative practice either in my sketchbook, or in what I call my ‘responsive journals’. These are journals that I build that have color, or shapes/lines on the pages that I can respond to by filling them in with marks. These are great because they’re portable and don’t require many supplies. These saved me during the newborn months when I got interrupted more often than not and wasn’t always creating in the same place.
The definition of ‘upcycle’ is to “reuse (discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original”. –Merriam-webster
To me, upcycled substrates include any surface that is maybe not traditionally used as a base for art making, and also any surface that is repurposed as a substrate. Below are some of the upcycled substrates that I’m currently using, but there many more out there. If you have any other upcycled substrates that you’re currently using, please share them below!
Vintage Book Covers
I love books and whenever I find vintage book covers, I can’t help but want to give them a second life and highlight their beauty. I’ve found them to be a great surface to paint on too, the inside cover paper holds paint well and they either bring an interesting pattern or an aged paper tone. Plus the visual impact of looking at the outer cover and the flipping over to the painted side is a big-time joy bringer, at least for me.
Look for vintage book covers that have lost their mate, as single ones can’t be used as journal covers so they’re more likely to end up in the recycling bin.
As you begin painting, consider if you want to cover the surface to the edges, or leave book cover edges visible from the painted side.
Cardboard
The cardboard that’s used between layers of cans is another great surface for painting. They take paint surprisingly well, they’re free, and they come with an interesting circular pattern on them from the imprints of the cans. I say this all the time, but I love the idea of taking something that would have just been trash and turning it into art. Pure magic.
While these do take paint well, they are a bit on the absorbant-side, so definitely be prepared to come back in with lots of layers of paints and marks. What a bummer!
The contrast of the cardboard brown color with the bright colors of marks and paints is also really satisfying. It’s the same idea as drawing on grey or kraft colored paper.
“Junk” Mail
I love checking the mail to see what potential ‘art supplies’ have arrived unsolicited. I use junk mail for my accordian books and I specifically I look for pamphlet style mailers and ones with a more matte finish. They can be cut up, refolded and put together to make multi-page accordian books.
These usually need either sanding, collaging or painting to be able to take paint well, depending on the surface, but they offer a lot of possibility. Each one ends up as a different size book with a different number of pages, so really no two are the same. I love to see how each one turns out different and what decisions I end up making in order to cover up the text and images that they came with.
Conclusion
So those are three of my current upcycled substrate favorites. I hope you got at least one new idea from this post and you take it and run with it and make some amazing art.
See you next week for my second fave art supply–Mark Making Devices.
