Artists Inspiration - Bottlecrop

It's amazing the things that artists use to create.  Katrina is another one of those artists.  She works with glass bottles and turns them into things you can use everyday.  I was thrilled when she said she would participate in my Artists Inspiration series.  
Thank you Katrina for sharing your story with us today!

Recycled wine bottle canisters with natural corks

BottleCrop

Tell us a little about yourself and what you sell.

Hi there. I'm your typical right brainer- a shy egomaniac who would do anything rather than talk about myself. Check out my "profile" on Etsy: www.etsy.com/people/bottlecrop See? However, since Everyday Inspired asked so nicely: I studied design at Pratt Institute, and I spent many years as an art director in NYC before fleeing to rural Bucks County PA, husband in hand and baby in arms. I've always been inspired and sustained by nature and bringing up children in the country has given me an incredibly happy vicarious second experience of childhood. (And my beloved organic garden)

Seed starting kit recycled glass tumblers edible

Why and how did you decide to work with upcycled/recycled/repurposed materials?

think people who learn to draw are given the gift of noticing- looking at everyday things (especially living things, outdoor things) a little more closely, and that's my inspiration. It's also why I've always repurposed/recycled/upycled things- why ruin the landscape growing landfills if something can still be made useful somehow?

Recycled glasses bear bottle tumblers leaf emblem

What inspires you to create/sell what you do?

Bottlecrop evolved like this- every year I make a big batch of handmade gifts for friends and family- something that my kids can participate in. Something eco-friendly that will not add to the clutter of useless "prop" gifts that we all receive. Something that can be eaten, reused or used up. One day while loading glasses into the dishwasher I noticed the colorful light shining through an empty bottle I'd placed on the windowsill to sketch. I thought- how funny that we use glasses over and over for decades but recycle bottles after one use. (Inspiration for my Etsy "profile" poem.) I remembered cutting a glass bottle with string when I was a kid and how fun it was, so that year our gift project was glasses made from bottles, hand painted by the kids. A big hit, and the beginning of bottlecrop. I don't use string to cut the glass anymore and the kids are busy with other things, but I can't seem to stop making things out of bottles.

Terrarium in recycled wine bottle indoor garden 

What is your favorite thing about creating/designing?

My favorite thing about creating/designing? Everything. It's just what I do, and I'll never stop. Even as I write this I'm rearranging my coffee mug so the light hits it just right.

Recycled glasses from wine bottles tall green set

You can see all of Katrina work in her Etsy shop and on her website http://www.bottlecrop.com/.