Everything Can Be Something

Chances are, if you’re living, you live somewhere. Chances are, if you’re human, you live in an apartment, a house, a cabin, a tent. You have a place you exist, and that place you exist in can look any which way you want, even if you can’t paint the walls, and even if you can’t hang chandeliers or lighting you love. There are always compromises, but decorating where you are is the most important part of being any type of artist. Your surroundings must echo your soul in order for being inspired to stay inspired.

Everyone collects stuff, and, if you’re like me, one thing could become several different things, such as a bed comforter becoming a fake slipcover for a chair, or a window curtain becoming a tablecloth. Bath mats can become normal, everyday, rugs, polka dotting a larger rug. One of the more obvious ones, a mug becoming a container for pens. Also a container for pens, a short and small planter. Covers off of full notebooks can become wall art… or, coasters.

This is where shopping in your own house comes in.

Most objects can become something else.

Jewelry trays can be made out of egg cartons, or kitchen utensil organizers that are typically used for forks, spoons, and knives. Towel racks for wet towels can be made into places to hang clean and dry blankets in the corner of your living room.

If most objects can become something else, look around and see what you can create out of what you have. 

Anything old can also become something new. Just add paint, dye, sewn patches, embroidery, safety pins, studs… the possibilities are endless. That’s one of the most fun parts of decorating. You can make it as artful as you want, upcycling what can become a huge part of your new home — or, an old home you’re realizing has as much potential as you do.

When you begin exploring how to create objects out of nothing, grab a notebook, and begin jotting down what you have on hand, and what you believe can be turned into something else. 

It can be as simple as an old tire and a piece of wood. Paint the tire and the wood. Plop the wood on top of the old tire. Ta da! You now have a coffee table.

If you begin opening your mind to what objects can be, then you can stop only allotting them to what they should be. Being an artist means looking at everything that exists in a way that changes based on what the issue is. If anything can be anything, then creating objects out of nothing could be something.

This goes with random office supplies, artwork you find in books or magazines, old prints you find at a consignment shop. Starting small, even just realizing that you don’t need a tape measure to rearrange your living room, will help you to begin the journey into seeing what other people don’t.

There are good questions to begin your journey on creating the space, or spaces, around you. Not just ‘What could this be?’ or ‘What could this look like?’ but questions that will help you get there.

‘What color should I make this?’

‘What shapes or patterns will make this look better?’

‘Where can I look for inspiration?’

For that last question, any magazine can hold inspiration. What I love to do is go through the ads, cutting out whatever ones suit my style, and scrapbooking them, saying what I love and what I don’t love about each one. Sure, you could buy fashion magazines and house magazines and food magazines, but never doubt the usefulness of looking at pictures in any magazine, and cutting out what you think is beautiful or funky or anything that inspires you.

Anything can be inspiring. If you find a song you love, turn a lyric or two into a sign that you can place above your bed. No, you cannot sell it because the lyrics are copyrighted… but you can keep something like that for yourself — a personal reminder of what you learned from art you love. You can do the same thing with movie quotes. You can do the cheap method, which is markers and a piece of card stock… or, you could purchase wood and decorate it with lots and lots of paint.

Anything can be inspiring. This also means to look around you. Make lists of what you love to look at, and why you love to look at it. Start collections of objects or fabric or other household items that you know have multiple uses… like my giant mug collection, which can be used as toothbrush holders, makeup brush cups, pen cups, and, the most obvious, for morning coffee.

These collections, these things you love, can be turned into multiple types of objects simply because you love to look at them.

Whatever you love to look at, and whoever you are on the inside, please remember that everything can be something. Whether you’re upcycling garbage into art and furniture, or giving everyday items multiple purposes, everything can be something, especially something you love.