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GREENSBORO — Artists long have created art from found and natural objects: rocks, bones and plants in centuries past; scrap metal, paper and cloth now.

“Anything we see around us has the potential to be considered aesthetically,” says Ray Martin, chairman of Greensboro College’s art department.

Martin incorporates such objects into his art and teaches his students to do the same. His works might include not only paint, but also feathers, rocks, toys — even rusty nails.

“The side effect is that you are educating the public that things can be reused, they can live on, they can be reincarnated in a different form.”
Around the Triad, examples abound of artists drawing attention to environmental issues through their creativity.

Some downtown Greensboro galleries offer a sampling.

Lyndon Street Artworks (205 Lyndon St.) houses studios for more than 40 artists, many recycling older objects and materials into new art. Erik Beerbower  creates functional sculpture from scrap metal. Julie McKnight uses old wine bottles to create stained glass and glass art. Dai Rees  makes glass candles from recycled light bulbs.

“A lot of times, people will not realize that it’s recycled material because of the way that artists transform it,” Beerbower says.
Using recycled materials also keeps artists’ costs down “so it benefits everybody,” Beerbower says.

Several blocks away at Artmongerz (610 S. Elm St.), Frank Russell creates sea creatures from found metal objects such as ironing boards, musical instruments, cooking utensils, and bike and car parts.

To see the ultimate example of objects repurposed into new art forms, go next door to Elsewhere Artist Collaborative.
It’s not an art gallery where works are for sale. It’s a living museum.

A gazillion items — toys, Army surplus materials, books, clothing, suitcases, to name a few — fill the building at 606 S. Elm St. Thrift store owner Sylvia Gray  left the items behind when she passed away in 1997.

In 2003, her grandson George Scheer and his college friend Stephanie Sherman turned it into a nonprofit living art museum and arts incubator.

Here, artists from around the globe transform the collection into new works.

A bolt of denim, for example, has been turned into a denim log cabin. A hollowed TV has become a photo booth.

They have turned  the rear alley into an urban garden. Plants sprout from soda bottles, a child’s toy, even old shoes. A wall has been built with empty wine and beer bottles from nearby restaurants.

But Elsewhere’s mission goes beyond making art.

It promotes a broad understanding of sustainability, showing how to reuse resources wisely and creatively, and building community through that process, Scheer says.

“The vision is to use one woman’s collection as a means of building collaborative communities,” he says. “And for a community to be collaborative, it has to be sustainable. We are trying to change the way that people think about art and cultural experience.”

Contact Dawn DeCwikiel-Kane at 373-5204 or dawn.kane@news-record.com