Back in August, Ruby Re-Usable had the pleasure of visiting the American Folk Art Museum in New York City, where she enjoyed seeing Women Only: Folk Art by Female Hands, The Private Collection of Henry Darger, Perspectives: Setting the Scene in American Folk Art, and most of all, the Approaching Abstraction exhibit. The piece that immediately caught her eye and warmed the cockles of her heart was made from the same materials that she has been using for the past decade:

Wonderbread Bag Rug with ball of twine, artist unknown, possibly Desiree Parker, (dates unknown), Ledyard, Conneticut, Twentieth Century, Plastic Wonderbread bags, Gift of Claudia Polsky

This rug was found in the Ledyard, Connecticut attic of Desiree Parker after her death. It was possibly created by Parker or an acquaintance. Made entirely of woven plastic Wonderbread bag strands much like a nineteenth century braided rag rug, it is a whimsical example of a common feature of folk art: the recycling of humble materials and the transformation from an original purpose to a new one. This is a timeless global phenomenon not tied to one culture or community. For example, used matchsticks may be glued together to make a jewelry box, discarded Popsicle sticks get reconstructed into a lamp, or empty soda cans are cut up and made into toy cars and airplanes. The “make something from nothing“ aesthetic is very much at play here.

more pics from the American Folk Art Museum HERE and HERE; pics of Ruby Re-Usable’s repurposed Wonderbread plastic bag art HERE