Eco Art
Hi, welcome to my world. I am Orly Rostoker - Bloomenfeld. You may know me as the multidisiplinary artist, designer and a Jewelry brand owner who pushes for a social and environmental change. Or you may know me as that person who finds it hard to overlook wrong doings. Yes, I have to face the challange, try to overcome it and when I do, I am happy like a little girl who feels like she's made a difference!
That is probably what got me into eco arting over more than 12 years ago. If it wasn't for this uncontrolled urge, I wouldn't be creating lifestyle and artistic pieces from dicarded materials.
When something feels wrong
Baffled by the quick shift we make regarding items once they stop fulfilling their original usage, made me feel that something was wrong. If in a matter of seconds, a once desired item becomes so disgusting to us that we no longer want it anywhere around us, made me realize that something was obviously VERY wrong.
Why it happens
Ebarrassing as it may be, we are just too careless and quick to lable things as "trash". We forget about the human and natural resources put in to make the items. We forget about the money put in to make them and how much more money would be spent to discard those same items. What a waste! This realisation got me so frustrated that I knew I had to do something about it.
Facing the challange
I reaized that making a discarded item become desired again is a real challange. It requires a different way of thinking. It calls for a change in our mindsets, even in our lingo. However, I felt that if I can get people to overcome this challange a whole new world is going to open up for us all; instead of seeing ourselves drowning in "trash", we will realize that we are sorounded with high quality raw material just waiting to be used - boom!
(Cute prince frogs note holders from soda bottles)
You have to see it to believe it
In order for people to adopt this way of thinking I had to visually win them over showing how beautiful things can look and how it is totally possible. And indeed I even managed to surprise myself as how the items and artistic pieces I created were beautiful on their own right. The designs were eye catching and the colorfulness just made people happy. No one could tell the things they were raving about were actually made of used plastic bottles, nylone bags, old book/newspaper pages, coffee capsules etc'.
(Bridal bouquet from nylon bags)
When magic happens
The very moment our brain grasps the connection between a familiar material and the unexpected new form/use is the moment magic happens! The magic of realizing that looking at things "different" is doable, it is refreshing and fun and totally worthwhile. The realisation regarding our attitude towards materials around us and the labelling and fixations regarding their use. A realization that leads to a deep change in our mindsets that will reflect on many levels in our lives.
(Flowers from soda bottles)
No right or wrong
As I never studied art, I was free of any right or wrong paradigmas. I found my passion in combinig contrasting elements (materials/methods) creating an unexpected harmony giving a fresh new innovative form. Working with existing materials is not easy and the R&D stage is very challanging, especially when each material swings to its own direction. Luckily enough, I did manage to connect some materials to my love of nature and so they got the forms of flowers. The coffee capsules pulled to a more distinct direction and demanded to become jewelry. And so, combinig discarded material with precious metals I woke up one day to discover I am a jewelry brand designer and owner - yes! A jewelry brand that offers wearable art one - of- a -kind pieces, with a twist.
(Jewelry with coffee capsules)
Upcycling is the answer
The method of upcycling keeps the qualities of the original material, giving it another (sometimes better) cycle in life. It is now also known as "circular economy" and is a major part in the "slow living" movement. These defenitions definitily show how much we have progressed in the past 12 years. However, there is still s long way to go until it becomes an integral pattern of our mindset and way of life. So I am still doing my best to make it a reality through my creations and creative & agile thinking workshops as I strongly believe that we should have a better world. Not in the future. Today! And as much as we can help it, let this better world be beautiful, joyful and full of chic and style.
Whishing us luck
(Flowers from old newspapers)
Yours truely,
Orly Rostoker -Bloomenfeld