I have a bit of a problem with throwing things away.

Not because I’m particularly good at recycling. It’s more that when I’m in my studio and look at something that would normally be considered rubbish, my first thought is usually, I wonder what I could make with that?

A used tea bag.

A piece of cardboard.

An old book page.

A scrap of lace.

A bit of plasterers’ mesh.

Packaging.

A piece of hessian.

These are the things that catch my eye.

And that’s what I love about working with found objects. They make me look differently at the things around me.

Seeing potential in ordinary things

When we think about art materials, we tend to think about the things we buy specifically to make art. Paint, canvas, brushes and beautiful papers.

And I love all of those things.

But there is something more exciting about making something from an object that was never intended to become art.

A piece of cardboard becomes a surface. A tea bag becomes texture. An old book page becomes part of a collage. Packaging becomes structure.

And those materials bring something with them. They have already had a life. They might be torn, stained, folded, printed on or a little bit imperfect. But that’s exactly what makes them interesting.

You don’t always need a plan

One of the things I encourage people to do is look around before they buy something new.

You don’t need a studio full of expensive art supplies to be creative or make interesting work.

In fact, sometimes having fewer choices makes creating easier.

Give me three colours, some old cardboard, a piece of lace and a handful of found objects and I’ll start wondering:

What happens if I put this here?

What if I tear it instead of cutting it?

What happens if I paint over it?

That’s when the experimenting begins.

You don’t always need to know what something is going to become. Sometimes you just need to put it aside because you like the colour, texture or shape.

Eventually, it might find its way into a piece of art. Or it might sit in a box for two years.

That’s okay too.

A little less waste, a little more imagination

Now, I’m not suggesting we rescue every piece of rubbish from the bin. There has to be a limit. Mostly.

But I do think there is something worthwhile in changing the way we look at the things we throw away.

If a piece of packaging can become part of an artwork instead of going straight into the bin, that’s one small piece of waste that has been given another purpose.

More importantly, it encourages us to become curious.

To notice texture.

To notice colour.

To notice the things we might normally walk straight past.

And I think that’s a lovely place to make art from.

So next time you’re about to throw something away, pause for a second.

Look at it.

You don’t have to save everything. But if something about it catches your eye, put it aside.

You never know.

It might just be your next art material.

And perhaps that’s what I love most about using found objects. I’m not just making something out of nothing.

I’m taking something that has already had a life and giving it another one.

And I think there is something rather beautiful about that.