Tennessee Technological University - Appalachian Center for Craft

Vince Pitelka, 2006

Mixed-Media Materials

The following is an eclectic, stream-of-consciousness collection of possible mixed media materials to use in your art.  This list evolves constantly, so if you come up with any good additions, please let me know.

Flat Stuff

Advertising signs, aluminum foil, asphalt shingles, bandages, belts, bills, birch bark, blotting-paper, blueprints, book jackets, books, broken pottery, bubble-wrap, bumper-stickers, burlap, business cards, calendars, can lids, cans (crushed), canvas, cardboard, carpet, carpet padding, catalogs, CDs, ceramic tile, certificates, chamois, cheesecloth, chicken wire, circuit boards, cloth, clothing, contact paper, construction paper, copies, decals, diplomas, documents, doormats, duct tape, electrical tape, fabric, family photos, felt, fiber board, fiberglass cloth, fiberglass mesh tape, floor tile, floor mats, floppy discs, flyers, foam insulating board, foamcore, Formica, forms, game-boards, gauze, glass, gold leaf, greeting cards, hardware cloth, headlines, instruction manuals, invoices, jig-saw puzzles, junk-mail, labels, leather, leaves, license plates, linoleum, lumber, magazines, maps, Masonite, matboard, men’s ties, Mylar sheeting, Naugahyde, newspaper, nylon stockings, origami paper, paneling, paper bags, paper money, particle board, photographs, plaster gauze, plastic bags, plastic lids, plastic screen, plastic sheeting, plastic wrap, playing cards, Plexiglas, plywood, postcards, poster-board, posters, print-outs, receipts, records, ribbon, rice-paper, road-maps, roofing paper, rubber sheeting, rugs, sandpaper, screen, sheet metal, sheetrock, sheet vinyl, shelf paper, signs, stained glass, stickers, Styrofoam, tags, textured papers, tickets, ties, tile, tissue paper, twigs, upholstery, vellum, vinyl tile, wall paper, window glass, window screen, wire mesh, wood shingles, wrapping paper, Xerox copies.

Linear Stuff

Arrows, bailing twine, bailing wire, bamboo, banding straps, barbed wire, belting, belts, bobby pins, branches, broom handle, broom handles, broom straw, cable, cardboard tubes, carpet tubes, chain, chopsticks, Christmas-tree garland, clothesline, coat hangers, cocktail skewers, coffee stir-sticks, copper tubing, cord, dowel, electric kiln elements, fabric strips, fan belts, fishing line, garden hose, lath strips, leather belts, lumber, mailing tubes, metal rods, nails, nylon stockings, pencils, pens, pins, pipe (metal or plastic), pipe cleaners, plastic ties, plastic tubing, re-bar, recording tape, reeds, ribbon, rope, rope lights, rubber tubing, shafting, shoe laces, sinew, steel rod, straight pins, soda straws, steel (rod, flat bar, angle), sticks, strapping (metal or plastic), string, thread, threaded rod, tinsel, tongue depressors, toothpicks, tubing, twine, twist ties, welding rod (aluminum, brass, mild steel, stainless steel), video tape, wire, wire ties, wood dowels, wood stakes, yarn. 

Miscellaneous Stuff

Aluminum cans, antlers, balls, bark, beads, beans, bones, bottle caps, branches, broken crockery, broken glass, buttons, cardboard boxes, ceramic tile, coffee beans, coins, cork, cotton, crockery, dirt, dried beans, dried flowers, dried grasses, dried leaves, egg cartons, egg shells, feathers, florist’s foam, foam rubber, fur, glass beads, glitter, gourds, gravel, hair, jar lids, macaroni, magnets, money, marbles, nuts, paint, paper clips, pasta, pennies, pine needles, pipe fittings, plastic bottles, plastic boxes, plastic cups, poker chips, rice, rocks, safety pins, sand, sawdust, seashells, skins, shell casings, shellac, socks, sponges, steel wool, stuffed socks, Styrofoam shapes, tacks, teeth, tin cans, tobacco cans, tokens, twigs, wood shavings.

Odd Found Objects

Advertising fixtures, appliance parts, appliances, auto parts, badges, ball bearings, bicycle parts, board game parts, bolts, bones, bottles, boxes, brackets, buttons, cans, calculators, cassettes, caster wheels, Christmas decorations, cell phones, circuit boards, clocks, clock parts, clothing, computers, computer parts, cosmetic containers, costume jewelry, crockery, curtain hardware, cutlery, dolls, dried flowers, electrical parts, electronic parts, eye glasses, flower pots, furniture parts, gears, gemstones, glassware, gloves, golf balls, handles, hasps, hats, hardware, hinges, jars, jewelry, keyboards, keys, kitchen utensils, lamps, lamp parts, latches, lids, light bulbs, light fixtures, machine parts, masks, medallions, motors, musical instruments, nuts and bolts, office equipment, old crockery, old tools, padlocks, pine cones, pipe fittings, plastic boxes, plastic flowers, radios, radio parts, roller-skate parts, screws, seashells, sewing machine parts, shoes, silverware, spark-plugs, spent fireworks, spools, spoons, springs, sprockets, stuffed animals, switches, telephones, television parts, ties, tool parts, tools, toy parts, toys, tree branches, twigs, typewriters, umbrellas, watches, wood scraps.

Fastening and Forming

Acrylic medium (Roplex, Acrylex, etc.), aerosol urethane foam, auto-body putty (Bondo), bolts, book-binding tape, C-clamps, cable, caulking compounds, clamps, clothespins, concrete, construction adhesive, contact cement, cord, double-sided carpet tape, drywall screws, drywall tape, duct tape, electrical tape, egg white, epoxy glue, epoxy paste, epoxy putty, fiberglass resin, fishing line, glue stick, grout, hose clamps, hot glue, Hydrocal, liquid nails, magnets, metal brackets, modeling paste, nails, nuts, packing tape, paper clips, paper mache, paper pulp, pins, plaster gauze, plaster of paris, plastic model glue, plastic tie-strips, plastic tool-dip, plumber's tape, polymer clay (oven bake clay), pop-rivets, putty, Portland cement, refractory cement, rivets, rope, rubber cement, screw-anchors, screws, silicone adhesive, spackling compound, spray adhesive, staples, strapping tape, string, super glue, tacks, thin-set mortar, tile mastic, tile grout, twine, urethane foam (aerosol), Velcro, wire, white glue.

What have I left out?