My previous life in Mechanical Engineering, Computer Aided Drafting and Webpage Management environment left little time for artistic endeavors. Now that I have retired from the public service I am free to pursue my creative energies. This takes the form mainly in jewelry and wall art.
Recycling or better still up cycling is something I have fallen into not by design but by serendipity. Looking for other materials to exploit for my pleasure I have discovered Tyvek, which is a man made product by Dupont. Generally used for house insulation it looks and feels like paper. Add heat and you get the most amazing effects, a lace like fabric look.
Eggshells may seem pretty dull but they create the most amazing mini-mosaics, which I then use to create: mirrors, collages, pendants, brooches and rings.
However the best fun so far is converting coke bottles or more correctly PET plastic bottles into something beautiful and or wearable. Again when you add heat to PET bottles the most fascinating thing happens, it comes alive, like watching time-lapse photography. The plastic moves, curls and almost takes on a life of its own. People just love the look and the fact it is up-cycled and not going into landfill.
Recycling cutlery saves these lost souls from being left in a dark corner in some second-hand shop, or left dusty and discarded in an antique shop. Spoons, forks, and knives make an ideal base for an artistic approach using, beads, eggshells, decoupage, paint or just focusing on their inherent beauty. These become unique pendants, as two are never the same.
Sometimes I use traditional materials such beads to give my range of jewelry and home decor a more universal appeal. Stepping away from basic beading I use beads to cover wooden beads, make beaded flowers, bead trees and sometimes when time allows beaded greeting cards. Mixed media eclectic best describes my style. Mixing materials and styles, such as wire coil or crochet wire with Swarovski crystals, handmade paper beads with glass beads. Using coke bottles, eggshells and Tyvek makes my work just a little different. We all like to be an individual
I also paint on paper, silk or glass, decoupage anything that does not move, I make jewelry, play with polymer clay, cast with plaster, and generally mix the techniques and materials. I also paint with paper, using paper as my palate instead of paint.
I am proud to say that I am one of the very few artists who create decoupage jewelry and jewelry made with handmade paper beads.
I just love Japanese and Indian paper, which I buy directly from the manufacturer. This ensures the quality and range of papers I have access to. Buying paper at the local craft store limits your choices.
Color and texture are my main inspiration. I find things “talk to me” and the design just happens. I never sketch or plan what I going to do it just flows. I love looking at products from suppliers and imagining what I could create from their products.
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Vendor Biography
Eryka Garbutt Designs
My previous life in Mechanical Engineering, Computer Aided Drafting and Webpage Management environment left little time for artistic endeavors. Now that I have retired from the public service I am free to pursue my creative energies. This takes the form mainly in jewelry and wall art.
Recycling or better still up cycling is something I have fallen into not by design but by serendipity. Looking for other materials to exploit for my pleasure I have discovered Tyvek, which is a man made product by Dupont. Generally used for house insulation it looks and feels like paper. Add heat and you get the most amazing effects, a lace like fabric look.
Eggshells may seem pretty dull but they create the most amazing mini-mosaics, which I then use to create: mirrors, collages, pendants, brooches and rings.
However the best fun so far is converting coke bottles or more correctly PET plastic bottles into something beautiful and or wearable. Again when you add heat to PET bottles the most fascinating thing happens, it comes alive, like watching time-lapse photography. The plastic moves, curls and almost takes on a life of its own. People just love the look and the fact it is up-cycled and not going into landfill.
Recycling cutlery saves these lost souls from being left in a dark corner in some second-hand shop, or left dusty and discarded in an antique shop. Spoons, forks, and knives make an ideal base for an artistic approach using, beads, eggshells, decoupage, paint or just focusing on their inherent beauty. These become unique pendants, as two are never the same.
Sometimes I use traditional materials such beads to give my range of jewelry and home decor a more universal appeal. Stepping away from basic beading I use beads to cover wooden beads, make beaded flowers, bead trees and sometimes when time allows beaded greeting cards. Mixed media eclectic best describes my style. Mixing materials and styles, such as wire coil or crochet wire with Swarovski crystals, handmade paper beads with glass beads. Using coke bottles, eggshells and Tyvek makes my work just a little different. We all like to be an individual
I also paint on paper, silk or glass, decoupage anything that does not move, I make jewelry, play with polymer clay, cast with plaster, and generally mix the techniques and materials. I also paint with paper, using paper as my palate instead of paint.
I am proud to say that I am one of the very few artists who create decoupage jewelry and jewelry made with handmade paper beads.
I just love Japanese and Indian paper, which I buy directly from the manufacturer. This ensures the quality and range of papers I have access to. Buying paper at the local craft store limits your choices.
Color and texture are my main inspiration. I find things “talk to me” and the design just happens. I never sketch or plan what I going to do it just flows. I love looking at products from suppliers and imagining what I could create from their products.