Aluminum can projects
I remember being a kid and loving to make projects that involved the three R’s. Reduce, reuse and recycle the mantra drove a lot of projects from elementary school to High School. As an adult now I feel a sense of pride when I give trash a second chance at life. In the town that housed my nine-month residency at Pocosin Arts they don’t recycle anymore. When I first got there one of the major news around town was that the county had stopped their recycling program, a weird concept to hear in 2025. I always say that I’m not super political about recycling but as soon as I heard the news something sparked in me and I had to take matters into my own hands, do my civil duty and at least have a project for the kids that involved recycling materials. So I became the trash lady and started collecting lots of cardboard to make papier-mâché stuff, then followed by a never ending collection of soda cans and tabs which were familiar as I had previously used to make bracelets and chain mail - easy activities that I would share with the kids. When collecting these I realized that the can itself has so much clean metal that can be used, but there was one thing I’ve always been intimidated by -thin aluminum- because lets be honest, it’s just not easy to work with. I admire the people that can emboss beautiful designs on it, I just haven’t found my groove on that but hopefully one day I will. Which is exactly what drove this series of experiments, feeling uncomfortable with the material made me want to make things that were well executed show off neat projects that are attractive for the art after school crowd while also bringing some recycling back to the town and sneakily do a low-cost class project for the school.
So here is what I came up with - all of these projects are not revolutionary and I don’t claim them to be but they are a spin on classics. The first images depict the mobile which I made with two sticks super glued together, a couple of laser-scored shapes mostly circles and little people I also used(mistakenly) some sewing thread (I would advise using something else as it kept getting tangled) . It was inspired by many mobiles that come up on pinterest and of course Calder.
I also made little lanterns that I imagine would make the most perfect outdoor decor for a little garden party, something you can make and even recycle after if you don’t want to store it away. This one can be painted too! I saw lots of people using spray paint to make them more cohesive but I enjoyed matching colors and vibes from different cans. I took this idea from various youtube videos and pinterest posts. I used some tougher cord for this one as well as a hole puncher to make a hole in the opening so it could be hung.
Now the bracelet I was talking about with soda can tabs. I love love love to make these and I have been making them for some years now. You can use t-shirt cut outs or cute ribbons, even thread and a couple of the soda tabs depending on how long you need them. I love the stretchiness of them and the surprising fact that they are actually comfortable to wear. This idea definitely came from this youtube video.
Lastly I have a new endeavor the soda can weave, I’m not going to lie. I struggled with this one. The weave kept wanting to get undone but I solved the problem by using nails to hold my warp as I interlocked the weft. I truly had no guidance. I only found one man making these beautiful soda can weaves but he never really talks about how he does it. I quickly realized the nails were temporary and I needed something to hold it the rest of its life so I then glued some paper in the back to keep it together and there it is. There are so many possibilities with this one and I want to keep experimenting and seeing if I can make it look better or make other things with it.
I am now working on chain mail and I want to make a skirt with them or even a tie. I will update you once I have it finished. This is a lengthier process and currently because of the accident I have no idea where my supplies are. I started writing this back some time ago and I wrote “For now I am hoping that the kids will be as excited on these projects as I am and I will update when I have images of their work!” I am really bummed that I won’t be able to see this through right now but I am hoping that by sharing maybe you could take on some of these projects and share them so they can come alive somehow. I am also hopeful that one day I will have the opportunity to bring these to life myself and share them with a young crowd to inspire some recycling.
thank you for reading, with love, fern ✤
