I used to be very upset when I lost an earring until I found out that my single earring could have another purpose, be used in a way I never imagined.
My father, my grandfather and my uncles owned a junkyard. My grandparent’s tiny house was situated at the edge of miles of junked cars. After feasting on my grandmother’s delicious Sunday dinners with my cousins, we hopped the fence to play in the junked cars. From an early age, I was taught the value of recycling. My uncles would find parts of cars dumped by the river and take it back to use in their transformation of broken vehicles.
It may be something in my genetic makeup I don’t know.
As an artist I love the process of taking broken, found or unusual objects and creating something new with them. The town I lived in had a swap shop which I loved. You could get rid of things that someone else might want at the same time finding something that you could use. That was my favorite place to find treasures: a children’s medieval fort, interesting plates, hardware that was unusual, a kitchen utensil. One day they did away with it and I was crushed. A great opportunity was lost for recycling but also for making friends in the community.
“Creativity is making marvelous out of the discarded.” - Jessica Mancari
To see my art made with found, discarded or broken materials go to: starhousetreasures@instagram.com