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WorkArt & Culture

Recycled art by Jane Perkins made out of buttons, shells, toys and discarded waste

Jane Perkins creates art out of discarded or once loved objects that have since been forgotten. Everything from buttons, toys and jewellery to old shells and beads.

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Via Creative Boom submission. All images courtesy of the artist

Via Creative Boom submission. All images courtesy of the artist

Inspired by impressionist art and famous portraits, she loves to recreate some of the most famous paintings by using lots of small objects to make up a picture. These objects are often collected from charity shops, car boot sales or recycling centres.

She'll often start by trying to match the colours, before finding the most appropriate shapes to suit each brushstroke or pixel. Calling herself a 're-maker', Jane's background lies in textiles but she now predominantly works with plastic. Look closely at these recent masterpieces and you'll spot just about anything you could imagine.

Mosaic portrait of a woman made from thousands of recycled buttons, beads, shells and trinkets in warm and cool tones, inspired by impressionist painting techniques
Portrait composed entirely of buttons, beads, shells and discarded objects arranged to create a smiling face wearing a crown and jewellery against a dark mechanical background
Sunflower composed of thousands of recycled objects including buttons, toys, beads and plastic pieces arranged in vibrant yellows, oranges, browns and greens against a blue background
Portrait of Albert Einstein composed of thousands of recycled buttons, beads, shells and plastic objects arranged on a dark patterned background
Colourful abstract artwork made from thousands of buttons, beads, toys and plastic objects in shades of blue, green, pink, yellow and white arranged to create an impressionistic composition
Portrait of a young woman wearing a red headscarf, created entirely from thousands of recycled buttons, shells and beads in varying colours and sizes
Recycled art portrait made from thousands of coloured buttons, beads and plastic objects arranged to create a face against a vibrant green, yellow and black background
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