Recycled Glass Art
I am having such a great time discovering artists using recycled materials in their crafts. I was so excited about this recycled glass artist, I could barely wait until Monday to share it with the CAGW readers!
John Bassett has been making these amazing glass panels and sculptures since 1979, long before green crafting was all the rage. John creates his works of art out of used bottles, chandelier parts, and other glass scraps. John says that his interests are in light, structure, line, texture, balance and color in that order.
I know most of us do not have the means to whip up art with our empty beer bottles, but I just had to share the wonderful way one artist has. So, I guess until I build a glass studio in my house, I will just put my bottles on the curb for recycling.
Some glass recycling facts from A Recyling Revolution:
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Every month, we throw out enough glass bottles and jars to fill up a giant skyscraper. All of these jars are recyclable! |
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The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours. It also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials. |
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A modern glass bottle would take 4000 years or more to decompose — and even longer if it’s in the landfill. |
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Mining and transporting raw materials for glass produces about 385 pounds of waste for every ton of glass that is made. If recycled glass is substituted for half of the raw materials, the waste is cut by more than 80%. |
It really is art, too– because I’ve spent the last few minutes here trying to dissect the glasswork into its various original parts. I’d tried a bit of a trash-to-treasure mosaic window once and honestly, mine still looked more along the rubbish lines.
It’s nice to see a site tackle the many elegant things you can do, craft-wise, that are eco-friendly.
Hi there. The art works are wonderful. Can’t believe they are made from recycled glass. I think John is very talented. Thanks for the glass facts. We should do our share to protect the environment.
Hi, I’m not too knowledgable of what goes into creating various glassworks. However, have seen (on TV) the hand blown glass technique and another process where glass is put in an extremely high temp. kiln?, melted and fused with other flat pieces, aiding in whatever the creative outcome will be. I’m wondering if glass artists who use recycled findings, ever crush their glass into much smaller pieces and then melt it in a similar way to re-use/re-fuse or is that possible?