This month, people everywhere recognized World Health Day and International Earth Day.
Since ReCreative opened, we have strived to fuel innovation and collaboration in the arts and environmentalism. When we created a physical space in the heart of the Santa Fe Arts District, we’ve worked hard to hold to our goal of functioning as a catalyst for social and intellectual enrichment.
But much of the success we’ve seen has not come solely from our efforts — a major amount of the progress we’ve made comes directly from the community that surrounds us.
While collecting creative materials that can be repurposed, recycled, and upcycled is a very large focus in our mission, actually seeing what those items become once they’re in your hands drives us even more.
There are a number of artists in our local community who work primarily with materials they have either found or purchased from creative reuse centers like ReCreative Denver. As these artists create remarkable pieces of work, they’re also helping our planet by reducing the waste that goes into our landfills.
We spoke to 3 of these artists who celebrate the Earth every day in their creations. They each share why eco-friendly artwork is important to them and what keeps them motivated to keep creating.
Yazmin Atmore (she/her)
Yazmin (Yazz) is a creative, community organizer, and educator here in Denver. As an educator, she mentors young artists as they explore their lives, stories, and passions through the beauty of art. Through her work with the youth in our community, she continues to develop and deepen her own artistry as an analog collagist and wheat-paste muralist.
At her core, she’s a scatterbrained, barefoot babe who likes to dance with words, play in the spirit world, and dabble in art magic.
Yazz uses expressionism within her intuitive mixed media art — she creates hand-cut collage works using bold colors, metallic paints, and gold leaf. Her work is heavily influenced by her spiritual journey.
“Art is just conversations with God. My work dabbles in themes of spirituality, ancestral wisdom, nature, and afro-futurism magic. And in this practice, I believe in simply using what you have around you to create magick.”
When Yazz first started creating, all she had were old magazines laying around the house and a pair of scissors. From there collaging works came naturally to her. By only using what she had, it challenged her to think outside the box with how she approached art. Now, while she’s expanded with the types of materials she uses, a majority of her works still come from magazines.
“I like to keep my practice simple, to be honest. I like to use what I already have. There’s a humility to it. I like the concept of ‘taking pieces from another world and creating a new world.’“
In a way, the worlds Yazz builds in her artwork is how she envisions the meeting grounds and portals to look when she’s dabbling in the Spirit World.
Follow Yazmin and discover the worlds she creates in her work >
Lily Curley (she/her)
Creating art has been a constant in Lily’s life. Growing up with a mother who is a ceramic artist, Lily was always encouraged and inspired to create. Once she began to pursue her interests in collage, painting, and repurposing, she knew she had discovered something special. After receiving her BFA in Fine Art and Pre-Art Therapy in 2011, she began experimenting with different mediums, materials, and styles.
Now, she’s homed in on her love of oil painting, visual storytelling, and adding recycled or thrifted materials to create work that’s visually exciting.
“Embracing curiosity and experimentation is my favorite part of the artistic process. I always loved the idea that you can take a collection of mundane things and turn them into something beautiful or useful. When I use repurposed items and recycled materials it feels like a big puzzle.”
Lily tries to share that excitement in her work with her viewers. Her hope is that it makes them take a step closer to try to figure out what materials are used.
“I’d like to think they smile with a surprise, and possibly ask themselves what creates ‘value’ in their life. Is it the price tag, usefulness, sentimental value, age, or quantity? What is the value of the work if it took hours to create, but the materials were regarded as useless? The answer is different for everyone and everything.”
Along with past experiences, daydreaming and observations of the world around her provide Lily with the visual bases of her work. She often includes symbolism inspired by history, literature, mysticism, mythology, and current events. If the subject is dark or deeply personal, she tries to balance it with beauty, vibrant color, humor, and whimsy to make the work more accessible.
Lily hopes that her transparency in her work allows viewers to see that while our experiences are different, the basis of what we feel is universal. She also aspires to build a mutual sense of understanding, camaraderie, and empowerment.
By doing so, she dreams that we can all appreciate and understand ourselves, the diversity of humanity, and the nature of the world at large.
Connect with Lily and see more of her visual creations >
Andrea Fischer (she/her)
Andrea is a fiber artist who strictly uses recycled yarn to create her one-of-a-kind soft sculptures. Her color experiments mingle with her own self-discovered technique of rug making to create whimsical, functional objects.
Andrea first started creating with yarn as a strategy to cope with the symptoms of her bipolar disorder. While this is still a valuable coping skill, she now also uses her creativity for fine art and vintage and rug restoration.
“There’s something special about making something out of nothing! I enjoy the challenge of manipulating materials to fit my needs and creating my projects using the materials I already own.”
She asks viewers of her art to relax in an altered reality valued by recycled materials and lots and lots of color. The repetition of yarn buries the existing surfaces of everyday items, shedding them of any masculinity they may portray.
Each detail is invested towards experiencing her interactive yarn sanctuary through more tactile senses beyond the eye — its true desire is to welcome all.
Andrea finds inspiration in the works of Liza Lou and Nick Cave, as well as in the local art community. Within that community, she’s a significant influence, especially within the realm of creating eco-friendly artworks.
“Using recycled materials allows my work to be one of a kind. In our society, we waste and throw out so much. By strictly using recycled materials and tools, I’m allowed to create art without creating a larger footprint.”
From clothing to yarn-covered furniture and full soft-sculpture installations, Andrea has no shortage of ideas as to how she can cover the world in yarn.
Follow Andrea and see more of her works and fiber art projects >
Make More Sustainable Choices
Through their artwork, these 3 talented artists help remind us that it’s our responsibility to be stewards of the Earth. While there’s a strong vision and messaging for each creator, they also find power in the use of recycled and repurposed materials.
The creation of something new out of something old is always inspiring, but we can all still take steps in our everyday moments to help reduce our daily waste.
Read through our quick guide on easy, sustainable habits you can incorporate into your routine to lessen your footprints.
Explore simple and practical sustainable choices to make every day >