Dunia Motif is a remarkable artist living in Norwich and originally from Malaysia, who makes colours and fabric dyes from kitchen waste, like onion skins, tea leaves and egg shells. Her mission? To reshape trash into treasures and inspire us all to embrace upcycling!
Give Waste a Ssecond Life
Gather these items: a toiler paper tube, acrylic paints and brushes, scissors, and decorations such as googly eyes. Patience is key today, as we’ll be waiting for the paint to dry. Now, let’s turn waste into snakes.
Paint the tube, let it dry for an hour, then add another coat of paint in the same colour. Let it dry for another hour.
Add dots of a different colour on top – make sure the second colour stands out from the first. Leave to dry again.
Cut the tube into one long strip, about 2cm wide
Snip one end into a forked tongue shape and paint it red
Add googly eyes and you’re done!
Why It’s Important
If we start using the waste we create as art material, it becomes a resource rather than a burden on the environment. It also saves us money, since we don’t have to buy expensive art supplies. Using creativity to repurpose waste is called “upcycling” and it’s better than recycling for a few different reasons. We can do it at home, so the waste doesn’t have to travel far, it takes less energy, and we can do exactly what we want with it.