Mary Ellen Croteau — Unconventional Mosaic Art
Over the course of two years, Chicago based artist Mary Ellen Croteau collected recycled plastic bottle caps to tile, layer and juxtapose each cap in order to create a self-portrait mosaic titled, CLOSE. While experimenting and working on another project with the recycled bottle caps, Croteau found that some bottle caps fit in each other creating circles of “paint” that reminded her of Chuck Close’s circles of paint.
Mary Ellen Croteau's plastic bottle cap mosaic: "CLOSE"
The 8′ x 7′ x 4″ work of art holds about 7,000 unpainted plastic bottle caps.
Croteau has been passionate about ecology issues over the past several years, in which she speaks through her creations:
What to do with all the plastic waste we are creating? It is made from petroleum.
It doesn’t compost or decompose. And these bags and caps are not recycled
no matter what they tell you – that is too costly. So I make art with them.
I have asked friends and family to collaborate by contributing their plastic bags and caps to the projects,
and this allows them to think about and quantify their contributions to the waste stream in consumer culture.
Pictures from Colossal and Mary Ellen Croteau
Very Very cool!
Amazing on several different levels.
Her best work yet. Too bad she had to copy off of Chuck Close. Then again she has never been too fond of men.
Artists don’t “copy” off each other, they inspire each other. In that way, Picasso “copied” off of everyone, including Braque and African art. My work is an homage to Chuck Close, as well as a cultural critique. It is, as usual, multi-layered.
I love men: evolved men. I have been married 37 years to a man I love more dearly every year, and have two wonderful sons who love and respect women, and are lovely human beings. It is only the misogynist male paradigm that I despise, and men who cling to it as if it was a life raft.
Thanks for your response Mary Ellen. Art always brings up a lot of subjectivity, questions, and personal insights – it’s important to keep the discorse open. We appreciate you joining in!
Wow! Very cool! What a great idea to make a mosaic using bottle caps. It must have taken you a long time. You’re such a creative person, I wonder what kind of ideas you might have with Mosaically
Your mural is amazing! I love how you layered or put bottle caps inside one another to create depth. My 6th grade students made a few bottle cap murals last year and used foam boards for the bases. We want to create some more murals this year and I’m curious why you used a peg board as the base? Any new ideas for a base I am interested in trying.
Your art and our local Art Prize in Grand Rapids, MI has inspired me to create a whimsical tree using plastic caps of various sizes and colors. This will hang in our local Christian school in Caledonia, MI. Did you use hot glue only to hold the pieces in place? If so, about how much did it take for a piece this size? Do you have any advice as we undertake this art project? Your piece is very cool!