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Saturday, July 31, 2021

Lockdown Art #5: Weird and Whacky Recycled Waste Hats by Lynne Chapman

One of the really joyful aspects of the lockdowns was seeing people released from their normal timetables finding time to explore new avenues. 

For some this was because "needs must" as in the need to keep income streams flowing. 

For others it was more about needing to keep creating in the face of the vast endless vacuum which was a lockdown.

For yet others there was a need to create joy in their lives at a time when it much was frightening and depressing. 

Fabrications out of single use plastic waste materials by Lynne Chapman

One of the more rewarding experiences I had was watching Lynne Chapman continue with a project she'd started prior to the pandemic - about using waste materials to create art.

She started back in 2019, thinking about ways in which she could use single use plastci within her textile art.

She progressed during the pandemic to creating hats. Much of which looked weird and whacky - but ALWAYS brought a smile to my face. She certainly succeeded in creating joy for very many people during a dark time.



Even better is the way in which her new artwork has begun to open new exhibiting opportunities for Lynne's textile art created from single use plastics.  

Here's what Lynne had to say last December on Facebook about her work to date

Waste Plastic Artwork

18 months ago, I began ‘locking’ single-use plastics within my textile artwork, to highlight issues around waste and the short-comings of recycling. The act of collecting personal waste really brings home the outrageous amounts we accumulate, even when we are trying to cut down.

Plastics are not easy materials to work with, but I enjoy creating unexpected outcomes from over-familiar, often ugly materials, presenting them anew, enhanced by thread and refreshed by a new perspective. In 2019, I was invited to create an installation for the entrance to Art& at York Racecourse. This became ‘Woe Betide Us’, a 4m x 1.5m plastic-bag wave, suspended above visitors.

Most recently, I have been making a series of Art Hats, utilising a wide range of waste plastics. I wanted to create joyful pieces during the covid era. Two of these hats are currently part of a touring exhibition in Cleveland, Ohio.  Facebook (my bold)

I'm left wondering why I'm not seeing more art which focuses on current issues around environmental and sustainability concerns. 

Maybe what's needed is time to stand and stare? Sometimes focusing on what is now opens our eyes to how creativity and art can come out of current concerns - and in turn develop into opportunities for what our future could and might involve.

Find out more


If you'd like to see more you can see more of her fantastical hats and really colourful sculptures at:

Besides being a textile artist, Lynne is also makes abstract paintings and is a working illustrator and Reportage Illustrator. 

I'm reminded of that saying "If you want something done, give it to a busy woman"!  

For me, Lynne is the epitome of an artist who does not waste time or let grass grow under her feet. She just "gets on and does"! I also think her creativity helped stimulate others during what has been a very discombobulating and trying time for many other artists.

My Lockdown Art theme on Saturdays

If you know of an artist who you think might fit into my small project highlighting lockdown art don't hesitate to get in touch. 

Essentially the artwork has to be:

  • either about lockdown / the pandemic
  • or stimulated in some way by the pandemic.
i.e. it's not just "more of the same" of what you were doing before. It has to be a genuine innovation associated with the time.

Posts to date include:
on

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