I use a lot of different materials in my artwork. The problem with this is that I collect a lot of odd items which I'm just sure I'm going to use someday.
Walnut shells - Several years ago, I saved the shells from some walnuts we were eating. Notice that I even wrapped red rubber bands around them to keep matching halves together. I have yet to figure out a use for these, but I have faith that someday I will.
Foam pool noodles - These are my favorite things to play with (except for fabric). I like to have a handy supply available and use them frequently in my artwork. Mostly, I use pool noodles inside of my sculptural pieces because they are easy to carve, lightweight (which helps with shipping costs) and inert, so they will not chemically break down after a period of time. Some of the finished works where I've used these noodles are Knitted, Forest Floor (the mushrooms), Tethered and Transformed. I also used to keep foam pipe wrap, of the type used to insulate water pipes, but my husband came down to my studio one day and asked if I had any. I replied, "What size and what color?". That's when I knew I had gone off the deep end.
Plastic mesh - I have such a large box of plastic mesh that I didn't even photograph them. They come from vegetable and fruit bags, but the biggest are from gigantic 50 lb. bags of peanuts that we buy for feeding the birds. I used some of these in an older work of mine called Premature Robot.
Cardboard corner protectors from picture frames - OK, I threw these out recently, but I kept dozens and dozens of them for a very loooooong time. They would have made awesome plates on the back of a stegosaurus (if I had some inclination to make one). There were so many that, if I had done this, my studio would have resembled an overcrowded Jurassic Park.
Metal springs - Why? Then again, why not?
Giant snail shells - They were originally purchased at a gourmet food store and intended for escargot. I sold the extras a year ago at an artists garage sale, but they lived in my studio for several years, mocking me. I still have the can of snails around here somewhere because no one wants them, despite the $18 cost. Believe it or not, I really did use them in my artwork Forest Floor. As I was using a Dremel tool to drill holes in the edges of the shells so I could sew them down, my son came into the room and asked what I was doing. I told him I was quilting. To his credit, he just shook his head and left the room without making any comments about his crazy mother.
Tape reels from old computers - My husband brought one home from work because they were being thrown out. I convinced him to go back and dig another one out of the garbage because I can really see a very long, skinny quilt rolled up on them some day. I'd say that this was a throwback to my days at IBM, but the computers I supported didn't use tapes.
Corks - I've been saving these for years and someday I'll figure out why. By now, you should be getting the feeling that some of my artwork would probably float on water. And it would.
Chinese restaurant calendars - These cool 2006 calendars were giveaways from our favorite takeout place. They are made of plastic and roll up like sushi rollers. They would make an interesting texture when I was stamping something, but not for use in the main body of a quilt. The takeout place might get orders from some unusual locations if I did.
