I turn corrugated boxes inside out to reveal the colors and textures hidden within.

Most corrugated cartons are simply sturdy containers, useful for storing goods and materials, or for shipping them safely from one place to another. They are so important that the health of the economy can be predicated on the numbers of boxes being manufactured and sold.

Once a box has completed this phase of its life, it is trash and we hope it gets recycled. Crushed, chopped up and reconstituted as paper pulp to emerge as a new corrugated box.

But between one box life and the next, the possibilities are endless. Check out some of those possibilities in these pages. We hope you enjoy venturing "beyond the carton".

Markets, Festivals, Exhibitions & Galleries

I am taking a sabatical from festivals and markets while I explore some new and different art media, see What's New.

Cutting Edges:Contemporary Mosaic Art
Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts, June 2009
This was the largest mosaic exhibition in North America, ever.
To see a slide show of this exhibition on Flickr:
www.flickr.com/photos/65738626@N00/sets/72157618756890137/
www.flickr.com/photos/65738626@N00/sets/72157614489046430/

Events Schedule 2010

Revision 2010
Vancouver, BC Canadawww.revision-theartofrecycling.com

Recycle Santa Fe 2010
Santa Fe, NMwww.recyclesantafe.org

Links have been moved to the Photo Gallery & Links page

Frequently Asked Questions (aka FAQ's)
a lay person's guide to corrugated packaging materials and Corrugated Art

This question does not get asked, but it's the first to be answered:
What is the difference between Cardboard and Corrugated?
The first is like particle board, tiny pieces pressed together and the latter is more like plywood, multiple layers.
Cardboard is the paper used in most cereal boxes. It's thickish gray paper printed with colorful pictures and text to get you to buy it. Real cardboard goes into the mixed paper bin.
Corrugated Cardboard is the combination of one or more corrugated (wavy) layer(s) sandwiched between layers of flat kraft paper. This material is usually brown but may be printed on the outside of a carton to advertise the contents. People in the packaging business just call it corrugated.

Where do I get my corrugated?
99% is post-consumer packaging from recycle bins, dumpsters, alleys, Costco, other stores,and anywhere I spot a nice looking orphaned box. Occasionally a sheet of single ply, single face (peeled) corrugated will catch my eye at a paper store, usually what I can't resist are tiny pieces of text and flecks of color mixed into the paper.

How do I get all those colors?
These are natural colors. The outer layer of most cartons is brown. I look under the top layer to see what color may be hiding under the surface. Most are plain brown inside but now and then, I find something unusual which is exciting. The faint zebra stripes above are from a dark glue that was used to adhere the top layer of kraft paper. Most glues don't show. "Shopping" for corrugated is a treasure hunt.

The red corrugated was painted before being cut into pieces.

The green corrugated was found on the floor after an indoor art festival. The black corrugated was from an Ecco shoe box found in a recycle bin. I didn't need to paint these.

Does it take a long time to create Corrugated Art?
The short answer is "Of course!"
My two favorite parts of the process are the beginning- -finding the corrugated & recycled materials-- and the end where I cut and glue the mosaic into existence. In between are sorting and storing the corrugated. peeling some of it to expose the ridges, creating the designs for the overall pieces (clock, wall art, etc.), and then building the frame or structure of the piece. Oh yeah, there are also public relations, answering the mail, accounting updating the web site and marketing. If I didn't enjoy my work, I'd find something else to do. I love corrugated papers and recycling! I don't keep track of the time when I'm having fun.



How do I cut the corrugated so crisply?
I use a utility knife with a fresh, sharp blade. Spent blades go to scrap metal recycling - packaged for safety. It helps it the humidity is low when I plan to do a lot of cutting.

How do I peel the top layer off?
That was something it took me awhile to figure out so I consider it a "trade secret" but if you think about it, you can probably figure it out.

What does the Recycled Content Rating mean?
I try to summarize just how much of an individual piece is actually "recycled". I use 99% as my best rating as I always use some glue and other new stuff that may not show. A clock will have a new clock mechanism so I give it a maximum of 95%. Then I evaluate the sources of the other materials to be either new or found. Lost and Found covers a lot of territory: on the sidewalk or curbside, in a recycle bin, an alley or parking lot, a salvage or thrift store, garage sale, Craig's list, in my studio scrap bin, leftover materials from other peoples projects, et cetera. Basically, I make a well considered guess.



Where does 3-ply corrugated come from?
Ordinary boxes are commonly made from 1-ply or 2-ply corrugated. 3-ply is a little more unusual. The next time you're in a grocery store, look for the giant corrugated paper bins that hold melons or bags of vegetables. The first one I got held bags of carrots so I generally refer to them as carrot corrals.
1-ply is good, 2-ply is stronger and 3-ply is really strong but more difficult to cut. Yes - there can be more layers.

Got a question?
My email address is luci@corrugatedart.com