Hey Kids, Look What I Found in the Garbage!

I've always loved making great finds in the things other people put out in the trash.  My husband and I practically furnished our first apartment with the discards of other lives.  The attraction isn't just that one finds cool things --

Me:  OMG look at this typewriter I found today!  It actually works!  If Pottery Barn could replicate these, tasteful living rooms across America would be graced with imitation-authentic Antique Accents -- but I have the real deal!
Teenaged Children: Mother, you are pathetic.

As you can see, my enthusiasm for 'garbage' is high.  (The fact that this enthusiasm embarrasses my children is just gravy.)

I also keep an eye on other people's discards because I feel bad about how much we all acquire and throw away in this country.  I've been trying to find a way to connect my feelings about over-consumption and under-recycling to my pet painting business for a while, and think I've come up with a way.

What do you see when you look at this cabinet (also rescued from the street this morning)?

If you said, "ugly, old, blue cabinet," you would be only partially correct. I also see many square inches of 1/2 inch solid wood, waiting to be cut up with a circular saw and used as the support for quite a few paintings.  Yes, it will take more work to cut this baby up and sand and prep each piece than it would to buy some canvases from my local art-supply store.  But that extra work will not only keep this cabinet out of the landfill, it will also reduce my consumption (I'll buy fewer new canvases) AND recycle an old, beat-up piece of furniture into something new and beautiful.

I'll keep you posted on my progress in realizing this goal: ultimately, I'd like to have all the Rainbowdog Pet Portraits painted on recycled surfaces.  What do you think about that?