One Man's Trash

First of all, for those of you who follow me (I'm talking to both of you), I'd like to apologize for the lapse in posts. It is truly my intent to publish at least once a week.

I was flipping through last month's Charleston Magazine and ran across a piece about artist, Jonathan Brilliant (yes, that's his name... and, yes, he is). I just love his works on paper that are created from coffee cup sleeves, stirrers, lids, sugar packets... you name it. It's fascinating to see ordinary discardable items turned into extraordinary works of art.


Coffee Cup Sleeve Mandala (print made from coffee sleeves)


Untitled (1000 black coffee lids & 1000 white coffee lids)


Sticks, Straws, Sleeves & Lids (detail)

Even more impressive, are the temporary woven sculpture installations that he constructs from wooden coffee stirrers. The scale and execution are nothing short of amazing. The pieces are held solely by tension (Moms, keep your kids on a short leash).






This particular installation at the City Gallery in Charleston was composed of 70,000 stirrers and took 10 days to create.

Jonathan is currently on his "Have Sticks Will Travel World Tour", creating site-specific installations. Do yourself a favor, and check out his website. Be sure to look at the gallery of installations. You'll never look at your latte the same.