By reusing cardboard you are not only saving money, but you are also saving the environment as well. In fact, with the rising trend of sustainability among the millennials, even the masses would now connect with your art. The rising support for such campaigns on Kickstarter is proof of this. Add to this a touch of traditionalism, and you have perfection before you. Therefore, if you are an eco-conscious creative artist opting for cardboard sculptures should be amongst your first choices.
Let’s look at five such astounding cardboard sculptures and their creators. Most of these artists have carved a niche for themselves in a specific sphere of cardboard art. Many have been inspired by everyday subjects while others have taken lead from nature itself. Some of them are completely involved with recyclable cardboard as a medium, and others chose to work in various other mediums as well, apart from cardboard.
5 -Creative cardboard sculptures
1. Corrugated cardboard Art pieces
Designer: Mark Langan
Description: None can beat fantastic eco creations of Ohio artist Mark Langan in sculpturing corrugated cardboard. While his other colleagues using cardboard as medium use plain side of cardboard for their creations, Langan has mastered the designing of textured cardboard. He crafts beautiful art pieces by combining, sticking, and shaping various discarded pieces of card boards he collects from his neighborhood. His masterpieces of cardboard are not inspired by computer graphics but hold uniqueness of its own.
Following the green path, Langan uses eco friendly materials like non toxic glue, a razor knife, cutting edge and a mat for generating his designs. Mark Langan is well known for his mastery of up-cycling. His work is mostly inspired by nature and he is dedicated to cardboard crafting.
2. Life like cardboard automobiles
Designer: Chris Gilmour
Description: Renowned cardboard sculptor, Chris Gilmour recreates automobile designs. He gives new lease of life to used and redundant cardboard through his sculptures. He basically constructs replicas of cars, bikes, engines and other every day objects. His admirers view his work as real objects wrapped in paper packs. Its amazing to watch how dirty cardboard is recreated into exclusive piece of art. Gilmour’s art is description of mechanization and civilization. Unlike Langan, he vividly portrays every day items.
3. Abstract and feminine cardboard sculpture
Designer: Alex Uribe
Description: In the age of popularity of abstract designs, Alex Uribe creates desirable art pieces of cardboard. His completely recyclable sculptures are figurative and organic in nature. His experiments with reproducing female forms in abstract are admirable. Alex creatively uses textured side of cardboard with twist and turn to produce his art form. Without much manipulation in the cardboard piece, he constructs interesting designs.
4. Cardboard arms store
Designer: Sylvie Reno
Description: Not many women love the art of weaponry to the extent that french artist, Sylvie Reno does. A huge collection of cardboard replicas of automatic pistols, Kalashnikov’s and knives adorn her art studio. She chisels and carves her creative arms like mason to get the correct shape. It is possible, to get mistaken for real one, by just looking at her creations. She uses smoother surface of cardboard for her weapon sculpturing. A smooth finishing and minute details are hallmark of her creations. She works exclusively with recycled cardboard. Her other creations include other daily items like tooth brush.
5. The wall Rabbit
Designer: Jozef Sumichrast
Description: Jozef drifted to cardboard art as he no longer enjoyed the creativity from traditional medium. His work is amazing and closer to life. The wall rabbit, his three dimensional sculpture has won him accolades. Created with industrial cardboard, wall rabbit is a sculpture that can be hung on the wall. He also uses shellac and dry wall screws as a material for his creation. The artist takes inspiration from everyday creatures who pass by him that could be human, animal or even angels. Jozef’s life like creations are astonishing pieces of art. Jozef is just not known for cardboard medium but metals as well. His mastery to transform familiar objects into extraordinary is worthy of admiration.
6. Creative cardboard sculptures using cardboard boxes
Designer: Scott Fife
Description: Everything comes packed in cardboard boxes, be it the food we eat or the phone we use. But after unpacking what do we do with these packaging materials. Of course, throw them away. Scott Fife, an artist from America, found an effective way to use this inexpensive material in his art forms, roughly 25 years back. What started as saving money on raw material changed into passion soon. He used to pick cardboards from the streets, carry them all the way home, cut them, paste them glue them and all this gave birth to exclusive works of art. Surprising many with his creativity, Scott soon started using archival cardboard instead of the normal ones insuring his work lived till eternity.
But after seeing his life-like work, it won’t be astonishing if you found it difficult to believe, that low tech tools like archival cardboard, Xacto knife, drywall screws, a screw gun, and glue were the only things used.
7. Cardboardivity City
Designer: Lucas Peixoto and many others
Description: In an attempt it inspires the Portugal people and companies to make the best out of limited resources, Oupas Design has created a real size city using cardboard. Creating exquisite things doesn’t need expensive materials, all you need is a pinch of creativity and some brilliant ideas that require less resources. The “Cardboardivity city” is one such project that gives the world a new and innovative perspective to look at things. This cardboard city is a joint effort of architect Lucas Peixoto, the graphic design team that includes Oupas, Eva Paula Castro and Inês de Freitas e Gonçalo Martins and the industrial design team that has designers like Verónica Rocha, Ana Rego, Fábio Duarte, Tiago Martins and Mariana Sadio.
The Cardboardivity city features buildings and objects made entirely of cardboard. You can see houses, trees, airplane, cars, telephone booths, clouds, huge coca-cola bottle, wind turbine etc, in this beautiful cardboard city. All of them are related to each one of the most important customers from Ivity, creating a magical atmosphere. What’s the most striking part is that the sculptures are real size and fashioned using cardboard. Created in a 250m² “secret” room called “Empty Room”, this installation did not require a lot of money because the cardboard boxes used to build them are mostly donated. Most of the cardboard boxes in this come from companies and some singulars.
Final Words
n artist is not deterred by bounds so does art itself. Many times what seems like trash and useless, can be turned into amazing piece of art with little creativity. This is what has been proved by the sculptors of these creative cardboard sculptures, who have managed to transform waste cardboard into sculptures, which are sure to fascinate art connoisseurs.
Cardboard, which is eco-friendly and fully recyclable has recently earned its legible space in the art world. We produce more than 400 tonnes of paper and cardboard every year which requires cutting down of trees on a large scale. Thus, in order to save on greenery around the world, it is important to recycle the existing paper waste. Trash cardboard art is an encouraging move on the part of the artist to make optimum use of the existing natural product.