Recycled Fish

Hi everyone.  Happy weekend.

Meet Mr. Fish.  

Most of your probably know Elizabeth (at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog) is celebrating her birthday on Earth Day with a recycled art month.

Elizabeth asked if I would be interested in creating some recycled art, and I was thrilled to be asked. Thank you Elizabeth for this opportunity.

I also knew just what I wanted to do.

Our waste transfer station, better known as the dump,  has a small enclosed area during the summer and early fall where people can put things too good to throw away but that they don't want anymore.  They are free for the taking, first come first serve. I've gotten some great things there including a vintage school desk, an old steamer trunk, a nice plant stand, and even occasionally a  stack of books to read. 

And I've not only brought things home, but I've (we if you also count my husband) have put  things there also. 

One day last summer my husband and I were at the dump. My husband came over to me, as I was still sitting in his truck, and he handed me this ceramic fish.

He knows I like fish. Maybe because I am a Pieces.

This fish was painted bright tropical colors and reminded me of something someone might have in a bathroom or a home party area with a tropical or Jimmy Buffet theme. They weren't my choice of colors.  You can make out some of those colors through the white spray paint.

One of my home projects last summer  was to spray paint some shutters I have in  my bathroom window.  I wanted them to match the bathroom wall shelves I had painted antique white the summer before.  One day when I was spray painting my shutters, I brought out the fish and used some paint on him also.

At that point I wasn't sure how I was going to continue to refinish Mr. Fish, so I put him on a shelf. There he sat until Elizabeth asked if I wanted to share something. 

I knew it was time to finish Mr. Fish.

I started by wrapping Mr. Fish with some printed tissue paper using matte medium.  This took awhile because I had to cover both sides and along the bottom and top, and since Mr. Fish does not stand on his own, I had to wait for the layers of matte medium to dry before I could move on.

I decided to make him "camo", at least fish "camo", as if he lived in a local lake or river and would blend in with his surroundings. I sprayed him with with assorted spray inks and some Dina Wakely spray paints until I liked how he looked.

And then I gave him some googly eyes. 

Now you see a redone, recycled and quite handsome Mr. Fish. At least I think he is handsome. He is going to work well in my living room with my other fish art. First I have to figure out how to get him to stand up however. I hope he won't have to sit for another 8 months before I figure that one out.

Thanks again to Elizabeth for sharing this art on her blog. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.