The three R’s and the art of the upcycle…

I take the “three R’s” to heart, almost part of a personal religion, certainly part of my life practice that gives me hope, cause, and simply a reason for doing things.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle; the simplicity of the trinity has a concrete material order for the extension and efficient use of stuff. The first rule of efficiency is do more with less; Reduce.

The vision granted to the Neo-materialist is that to see beyond the objectness of a thing and into its true material nature. With this vision the Reuse of an object is more simply available to the user. The jelly jar can now carry water as well.

The third and final R is Recycle. We can deconstruct an object, put its various pieces into the correct bins, tear it up and melt it down, roll it out and cut new widgets from the recycled material.  This final R is unfortunately the first go to, in our modern plastic life, and unfortunately, is the most energy intensive of the 3R’s (and few materials have a long recycled life, (their second coming is rarely as good as their first.))

Then there is the art of the Upcycle; it is a reuse of an object with an artistic spin. It takes the eye of a neo-materialist and the heart and hands of an artist to do this trick well. When this trick is done well, the object gets to speak honestly of its material nature, now, in its second coming ,as art or ornament that the 3R’s could only hold a candle to.

Lift your candle, love animals and ride your bicycle, and enjoy the art of the Upcycle!

Peace,

-ert