Controversially Heavy Catalog Turned into Light Hearted Art Works
Amanda Clare calls the 17-pound bundle of Restoration Hardware catalog wasteful.
— -- A San Francisco artist has turned Restoration Hardware's controversial mega-catalog into a series of light hearted artworks.
The company's catalog is a bundle of 13 glossy magazines totaling more than 3,000 pages with a back breaking weight for postal carriers of 17 pounds.
“I started getting catalogs from Restoration Hardware in May,” Amanda Clare, 36, told ABC News today. As much as Clare loved furniture from Restoration Hardware, the heavy catalog bundles bothered her.
“It is just a waste of our natural resources,” Clare said. “I want to do something positive about them rather than just throwing them in the recycling bin.”
She laid out the books on a bench, ripped out glossy pages, tore the pages into small pieces, and glued them on to watercolor paper like a mosaic.
“I’m using them as dirt, mountains, trees even. It works well,” Clare said. “I used some paint and chalk as well.”
So far, the collection includes portraits of roosters, a terrier, pigs, rabbits, pugs, a cat, horses and cows, all showcased on her website.
“When I have 20 paintings, I’ll have a show and display them all at once,” Clare said. She also intends to work on larger pieces.
Restoration Hardware has defended its massive mailing, arguing that it is "carbon neutral" since it is mailed out only once a year and as a single package.
Since Clare started her creative project, her friends have been sending her their Restoration catalogs.
She used only 50 pages to make four pieces. With 3,000 pages in each bundle, she could easily fill up a museum.
“I think I could be busy for the rest of my life with these bundles,” Clare joked.
