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The Mugridge Family, originally uploaded by michelle3duk.

I was commissioned to make these sculptures by Epsom and Ewell Borough Council. They are a life-size portrait of a family of four made from their own recyclables.
They have been created to support Epsom and Ewell’s new kerbside recycling scheme, which will be launched in February 2009. The sculptures will travel around the local area to roadshows and events.

Self portrait close-up, originally uploaded by michelle3duk.

This is a life-size self-portrait sculpture made from household waste.
She had her first outing at my open studios in Walthamstow, and I also took her to the Recycling and Waste Management exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham last week.

Fox2, originally uploaded by michelle3duk.

I was at the Recycling and Waste Management exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham last week.
I was the only artist amongst lots of machinery and other recycling businesses.
I made this fox from scratch over the three days that I was there.

Arts in the Park, originally uploaded by michelle3duk.

I created 3 sculptures of swimmers in the park this Sunday. This one is doing front crawl. The other two were a swimmer on a diving block about to dive, and a synchronised swimmer (only legs visible). I had lots of help from local children, hence the slightly bizarre anatomy in some places – skinny legs and bulky upper arm muscles. It was a good day with lots of interest from visitors to the park.

The event coincided with an Olympic handover ceremony in the park, and Adrian Moorhouse came to meet his fellow swimmers after receiving the Olympic flag.

Studio building on Blackhorse Lane, Walthamstow

A few exhibitions coming up.  This Sunday (24th August) I’m going to be at Arts in the Park, in Black Park, South Buckinghamshire.  I’ll be making work on the day – swimmers made of junk!  The event runs from 11am til 4pm.

Then, 12th to 14th September I have an Open Studio at my studio in Walthamstow – 114A Blackhorse Lane, Walthamstow, E17 6AA.  It’s a new building, just opened in January by Barbican Arts Group who also run Hertford Road Studios in Dalston.  There are 31 of us at Blackhorse Lane- painters, sculptors, photographers..

As part of the event there will be a ’silent auction’ with lots of work for sale, bids all start at £80.  We are also part of the E17 Arts Trail, so there’s plenty more to see around the Walthamstow area.

Apple Juice Wallet, originally uploaded by michelle3duk.

The second workshop I tried out was this one, making wallets and bags out of juice cartons. The wallets are really quick and easy to make, bags more involved and complex. I had a few people making wallets, but only one handbag made on the day. It looked great though!

Mini-me boy and dog, originally uploaded by michelle3duk.

I tried out a couple of new workshop ideas this weekend. The first was making “mini-me” recycled models. I provided pre-prepared parts for the basic structure, and lots of scrap materials to bring them to life. This is one of the resulting pieces, a boy and a dog.

Recycle Now Boy, originally uploaded by michelle3duk.

This is a sculpture I made for Merton Borough Council, for Recycle Now Week. He, and another sculpture of an adult woman, are loosely based on the Recycle Now cartoon characters. I made the adult figure in advance, and this one was made in a shopping centre in Colliers Wood, in front of passing shoppers.
Thanks to a boy called Leon who got really into the idea and helped me for a while, he has a jet pack on his back.

. Welcome To The New World ., originally uploaded by 3amfromkyoto.

This is a photo taken by 3amfromkyoto of one of my Seven Wasted Men. I love the way it’s been turned into this post-apocalyptic image with the cityscape in the background.