Thursday July 31, 2008
COLOUR ME GREEN
By THO XIN YI
Photos by CHUA KOK HWA
The self-taught graphic designer had been very keen in creating things from junk since her teens, and that had attracted disapproving looks and later, admiration from the people around her.
Not just a knapsack: Yuen with her eco warrior, Pokok. “I chanced upon a broken chair by the street and took it home, thinking that it was such a waste to throw it away as I could fix it in some ways.
“At first, my mum asked why I was bringing lap sap (junk) home but after she saw how I transformed the chair by painting it up and making it look new, she was very surprised and said it was very beautiful,” said the 36-year-old.
However, it was not until recently that she took up the hobby seriously under her Closet Crafty label.
“I attended the Utter Rubbish conference in Singapore in November last year, which brought in international designers to encourage people to use less and create more things,” Yuen said.
She then saw for herself the value in these green activities and started to create more things for the I Am Not Junk series, including notepads, dolls, pencil cases, bookmarks and bags.
The materials she used in making those attractive items were tennis balls, old socks, toilet paper tubes, tennis ball containers, old shirts, bubble foam wraps, and also plastic bags.
“I made a cross-eyed one-arm turtle and stuffed it with plastic bags. My aim was to tell people through Warrior Trootstie that he got killed when he ate a plastic bag after mistaking it for jelly fish,” Yuen said.
She also has Pokok (a knapsack in the shape of a bear) and five other warriors Dodi, Nodi, Joji, Froogi and Moot to send the green message across.
Yuen’s eco warriors: (From left) Dodi, Nodi, Joji, Froogi and Moot. In front of them are some pencil cases made by Yuen from an old shirt. To add a fun element to her warriors, she has humanised Pokok by telling people that it was him who made all the green items.
The five dolls in tennis ball containers are assembled using old socks, tennis balls, strips of old clothes and toilet paper tubes.
“I put each warrior in a capsulated case to tell people that the air outside is contaminated and so they can only survive in the sterile air, although they really want to come out,” Yuen said.
Her creations under the I Am Not Junk series are not for sale at the moment, although many people find them cute and useful.
“I decided to take away the element of greed because I feel that if you want to do something good, it should come from the heart without expecting anything in return.
“It started as a hobby, I didn’t think much about how it would impact the environment in a positive way. But it has become more meaningful now by saving more things from ending up in landfills.
“I am doing what I love without receiving money, and it has led me to many opportunities,” she said.
Yuen recently exhibited her creations at the No Plastic Bag Concert by The Recyclists and people approached her to ask how she made the items displayed.
“I don’t mind sharing my knowledge at all. I am glad that I have met my objective, which is to inspire more people to save the environment!” she said.
Yuen is going to give out her bookmarks at her mini exhibition at the arts and culture event at Menara Hap Seng every Sunday in August.
“Visitors can also meet Pokok and ask him any questions by writing them down on paper and placing them in his notebook. He will respond via email or snail mail,” Yuen said.
Yuen said developers and other organisations could maximise their resources by reducing waste and transforming them into premium gifts.
“Instead of wasting money giving away diaries or notebooks and creating demand for more trees to be chopped down, they could use scrap materials on site and turn them into decorations and stationery, or even create a new product line to add value to their businesses,” she said.
Her future plans include creating soft toys of endangered animals which die as a result of trying to eat plastic bags, producing an ebook to illustrate ways of turning junk into art, and utilising her knowledge in remedial therapies to come out with her own skincare products.
“I am also experimenting on how to make rubber stamp ink from juices of fruits and vegetables,” she said.
Yuen’s creations can be viewed at http://closetcrafty.blogspot.com
This article was taken from:The Star Online: Metro: Central 31 July 2008
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