Balancing toy installations
Thinking globally and acting locally, Installations and the collection "Toys and Recyclables" are teaching us a joyful way to take care of the world, reawakening children’s participation, imagination and creativity, promoting a cultural alternative to the current global market of mass produced toys, giving sample of a unique sustainable design.
Mainly, these installations are offering samples of what could be made also by ordinary people - children and parents, without special manual skills.
All of them are carefully made and decorated using recyclable materials and everyday items easily found around the home. No electrical tools have been used, but only “technologies of the hands”. Both toys and installations are enviro
nmentally friendly creations.
Installations are made using big pieces of Bee-Board Paper, and are peculiarly shaped. BeeBoard Paper is very strong cardboard with honeycomb cells inside, simple to cut, shape and light to transport with no sharp edges.
Consequently, this material seemed to me to be really environmentally friendly as well as suitable for activities with children.
Installations represent my tribute to the artist Alexander Calder, as they resemble his work of a joyful, simple and accessible form of Kinetic Art (a way to play with Gravity).
He was naturally oriented in expressing himself by manipulating any sort of materials found around the house, such as wire, wood, cork, leather, rubber, cloth, yarn, paper, cardboard, string, buttons, bottle caps and all sorts of other surprising materials.
So, I like to look at this artist's work to inspire the design of my BeeBoard shaped forms, linking them to my unique collection of handmade toys.
View the Calder Cirques from You Tube - LINK
Both the “Balancing Toys Installations” and “Toys and Recyclables” collections of handmade toys are available for haring.