I’ve become an urban scavenger. I prowl the neighbourhood looking for rubbish to add to my collection of used coffee pods. Will I be able to creatively reuse this rubbish and turn it into coffee pod art?
I wanted your discarded coffee pods.
My first collection of waste items was used coffee pods. Through the Facebook community page, I asked my neighbourhood to increase their coffee consumption and hand over their used pods. Thanks to the local caffeine addicts, I have a dazzling collection of brightly coloured aluminium coffee pods. My garage — and most of my clothes — carry the unmistakable aroma of damp, decaying coffee grounds.
After completing Tall Black, my majestic, caffeine‑fuelled, eco‑friendly giraffe, who now stands proudly in the garden, shimmering in the sun in his coat of repurposed coffee pods, I needed a new project.
I wanted to continue making upcycled garden sculptures from coffee pods, but the lack of a frame and my very limited sculpture skills left me stymied.
I played with the idea of making a peacock… surely that would be simple enough. Not too complicated, not too big… but I still didn’t know where to start. I’d need wire for a body, a neck, and a tail, but I suspected my vague ideas wouldn’t yield any results if I returned to the community Facebook page… I couldn’t even describe what I was looking for.
Where could I get some wire from…. Ah, the Brisbane Kerbside Collection.
Now I want your junk.
I devoted a couple of weekends to driving around Brisbane suburbs scheduled for their kerbside collections. I collected wire hanging baskets, plant trellises, rolls of chicken wire, and the circular covers from fans… maybe I could make this peacock. A selection of wire trip hazards joined my garage collection of festering coffee pods.
Then photos of three fabulous mythical temple birds, taken while we holidayed in Thailand, popped up on my photo memories. These were not perfect replicas of birds; they were suggestions of birds. – grand, colourful, adorned with jewels. A mythical bird seemed much more fun than a peacock. I’m no longer chained to reality, but I still had no idea how to start.
A neighbour alerted me to a garden arch discarded on a street just around the corner and urged me to take a look. The shape was perfect and became my base.
Now I had inspiration, but no real idea of what I was doing. I’ve made bits of the bird, but not sure I will use them all. I’ve made mistakes … and I’ll need even more pods.
Repurposing your rubbish
So far, my mythical bird includes:
- A huge lampshade covered with string, which I stripped off and cut in half
- The wire inside the packaging when we purchased a quilt
- Galvanised wire, tossed in a skip during a house move
- Hanging baskets
- Fan covers
- A garden arch
- A decorative bowl
- A small table
- Thousands of coffee pods
- And my favourite… the wire from the champagne bottle when we celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary.
Garbage in is not garbage out.
The process of making coffee pod art is meditative, like so many arts and crafts. As I poddle (yes, I’ve invented a word for what I’m doing), I’m reminded that;
- Trash can be beautiful.
- Balance and proportion are essential.
- Just start. You don’t always have to have a clear direction of where you’re going, but you can still take small steps into the unknown.
- Mistakes are allowed. The pieces I made first will probably not make the final cut.
- It doesn’t have to be perfect to be joyful.
- Feedback and ideas from others can be useful… or not. You can take them on board or discard them. Exposing your art is a vulnerable process – you are the woman in the arena with all eyes on you.
Can I turn rubbish into art?
I’ll know whether my collection of junk can become art in a few months…or perhaps next year. It’s a long, slow process fuelled by coffee, my love of making good from bad, family help and the contribution of my coffee-loving neighbourhood.
Keep drinking your coffee made from pods…especially your gold ones, I’m running short of those. I’m off to empty another 100 or so pods.
Related posts – I promise you these aren’t garbage!
Meet Tall Black: The Eco‑Chic Giraffe Who Moved Into My Backyard
I knew my giraffe needed a new coat — something fun, something colourful, something that would bring him back to life. Coffee pods suddenly seemed perfect.
Transforming thousands of coffee pods into a giraffe coat is not for the faint‑hearted. Here’s the process I perfected (or maybe endured):
Tall Black has been such a joy that I’m itching for another challenge. Maybe a dragon. Maybe a peacock. Maybe something I haven’t even imagined yet.
