plastic fantastic: the sequel

 

I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and now I’m finally doing it: no plastic bags will recycled here anymore. I’m keeping them all and making them into twine, which I’ll knit, weave or crochet into large thermal blankets, hammocks or new installation pieces. I'll also take inspiration from work produce and illustrated in this previous post. I'm having a bash at 'zero waste' and I’m not recycling anymore. I’m repurposing instead! 

What I’ll do with hard plastic food packaging need to be given some thought now. The house and studio meainwhile will start to fill with these specialty fashion twines. Pretty, but how I break the news to my partner is yet another matter!

plaiting plastic fantastic

Plastic these days has a bad name, and for all the right reasons.  It doesn’t stop me loving it though; colour, strength and versatility are characteristics that attract me to these polluting synthetic polymers. Plastics could easily be my guilty pleasure if I didn’t keep a tight check on it. That said, I’ve been doing my bit for the environment this week by making use of old plastic bags for dailymades.  Inspired by my recent workshop at the Museum of London (see weave and wealth), I rekindled my passion not only for plastic but also plaiting.

plaited plastic bags
dailymade #121221

I all too often realise I’ve forgotten how to make something as I attempt to recreate it and therefore need to improvise which inevitably leads to different outcomes every time.  Necessity truly is the mother of invention! Allowing myself to forget is somewhat planned however, as the possibility of creating new everytime is is too good an opportunity to miss.

So, expect to see more variations of these woven items in days to come on dailymades as I’ll indulge myself over the festive season plaiting plastic fantastic!

plaited plastic bags
dailymade #121220

for more details on plaited baskets and projects
using recycled materials, see
Practical Basketry Techniques