Often when I am creating art, or when my kids are creating art, we are more focused on the process of creating and not on the finished product. We tend to be left with piles of painted or drawn on papers that we do not intend to hang or keep. It seems very wasteful to toss them, even if you recycle...

I have found that old art makes great new art! Here are some fun ways to reduce your new paper usage, and reuse your old art which in turn reduces your need to recycle!

1. Paint or gesso over old paintings for a fresh paintable surface.
2. Collage or paint over parts of your original art allowing part to remain. This gives a beautiful layered effect that adds depth to your art.
3. Create a collage basket with old art work. Cut each piece into new shapes. You can either free hand the shapes or use hole punches/die cutters. I find that it is nice to have a mix in my collage basket. I try to include various sizes of: Circles, Squares, Triangles, long Strips, and organic free form shapes.

For this project we used various shapes cut from old art to make birds. The class is a mixed media class so I challenged them to add 3 or more different materials to complete their pictures. They did a fantastic job! Don't you think?