You must have heard of the saying “beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”. Proving the saying correct is an ingenious artist who sees the beauty lying in scrap. Ptolemy Elrington converts discarded hubcaps into astonishing animal figures. Using thousands of discarded hubcaps of cars like Mercedes, BMW, Ford and Volvo, he has created pieces like lizards, fishes, flies, toucans etc. He likes to work with reclaimed materials to show that what is one person’s junk is another man’s treasure.
Mind behind the art
43-year-old Ptolemy Elrington, from the United Kingdom, is the man behind these awe-inspiring creations made up of hubcaps. So far he has crafted dolphins, owls, dogs and dragons among other animals, using discarded hubcaps. He now works fulltime in his studio creating these hubcap figures for companies, councils and so on.
What inspired the artist?
Inspired by marine life and discarded hubcaps that he saw piled up new his house in Bradford, Ptolemy Elrington decided to give this waste a beautiful new life. He collected these hubcaps from a ditch and recycled them into impressive sculptures. He believes that since recycling for the benefit of the environment is a mainstream trend now, this is a worthwhile business venture as his work is appreciated all over.
The material
Ptolemy Elrington uses hubcaps for his creations. He collects discarded hubcaps and recycles them. The wire he uses to attach the caps is also from scrap waste. The artist uses a craft knife and a hacksaw as his tools to give shape to his design. He stocks approximately 500 caps and uses 10 to 200 per design.
The artwork
These amazing sculptures are a result of discarded hubcaps and a lot of creativity. Ptolemy Elrington collects discarded hubcaps and gives them new life by converting them into spectacular pieces of art. He creates sculptures of dolphins, lizards, flies, fishes, owl, dogs and many more. His most expensive creation is a 10 meter high dragon, which he sold for £3000. He tries to ensure that his models are as close as possible to the creatures that he sees at the Sea Life Centre and even fishermen have been impressed with his detailed work. The hubcap animals are created in the hope that they will encourage people to pay attention to their wasteful behavior and will draw their attention towards the needs of the environment.
What makes the art ‘green’?
Ptolemy Elrington does not buy the hubcaps, but utilizes discarded ones. All his stock comes from discarded ones, which he collects or ones that are passed on to him by his family and friends. Even the wires that he uses are collected from scrap waste, so it is safe to say that his creations are entirely made up of recycled material. In this way the artist helps in recycling waste and does his bit to clean up the environment. These magnificent works of art are handmade, so nothing that is harmful for the environment is used in the process of creating the models.
Via: ThisBlogRules/DailyMail