1. Start from the planning stage.

Working backwards with a design to fit in upcycled materials is very challenging. We recommend you consider what types of upcycled materials you will use literally from the drawing board. When you are making your drawings and 3d models, consider two things:

1. the visual impact of the materials

2. the structural impact of the materials

and make appropriate adjustments to your design.

2. Experiment.

If you've never worked with a particular material before, it's a great idea to experiment and prototype as a part of your planning and design process. For example, let's say you want to work with plastic (a great choice considering it's abundance) consider all of the types of plastic and the different ways you could use it. You could melt the plastic with a heat gun to make crystal-like drips, you could process it into tiny bits and melt it into a form, you could use as-is,... there are many options. Try them out, get yourself familiar with the medium, and don't worry about being messy and making mistakes in the process... have fun!

3. Get familiar with what resources are around you.

Within your design process it's a good idea to get familiar with what resources are around you when choosing what upcycled materials you'll use. We can divide these resources into three categories:

1. Household waste. You could probably build a pretty cool art project just with the stuff you throw away everyday. Plastic, aluminum, fabrics, random things... household waste is very easy to acquire, but also may be more work to process. We recommend cleaning everything throughly and organizing like materials into bins.

2. Thrift stores. Thrift stores are a total treasure trove... the things you can find can be so inspiring with a little bit of creativity. We recommend going to the thrift store with a clear idea of what you want so you don't come home with lots of things you won't use. Thrift store materials are easy to acquire, and have a fairly low cost. However, you should be sure that you aren't taking essential goods away from people who really need those at a discount.

3. Industrial spillover. Now THIS is the next-level upcycler's game. By "industrial spillover," we're referring to the large box stores and manufacturers that often have perfectly useable materials that for one reason or another they can't sell and end up in the landfill. These materials can be easier than you'd think to acquire (keep reading), and more snugly fit your needs.

4. Don't be afraid to ask.

Here we're talking particularly about how to get a piece of the "industrial spillover" pie. One method is dumpster diving, which you can certainly try. We recommend though forming relationships with places that have materials you want to use. It's really as simple as a phone call, email, or in-person meeting. Introduce yourself as an artist, and say you'd like to use any (or certain) materials they are getting rid of. Make the exchange easy for them, and you can promise them in return that you'll mention them or give them a few photos of your work. Trust me, you'd be surprised how open many companies are to this! There's no reason to sneak around in a dirty garbage can when you don't have to!

5. Be flexible and improvise.

Beggars can't be choosers, right? You can't always get what you want when it comes to working with upcycled materials. However, instead of thinking of this as a curse, try to think about it as a potential avenue for coming up with new and greater discoveries that bring your art to the next level. I have often had people comment about what I think was a mistake or accident in my paintings as the things they like most! Be flexible and improvise, you are in fact making treasure out of trash!