Leanet Miller crafts “Reassembled Strays” from recycled materials
An old water faucet, random pieces of metal and loose screws. Seen individually, these items appear destined for nowhere but the trash.
However, with a creative mind like Leanet Miller’s, these items can be brought together into a work of art.
Miller is a recycle artist in Columbia who uses her talent to make unique creations, which she calls “reassembled strays.”
The objects she uses are hard to find, but she sometimes gets them from Mid Carolina Steel and Goodwill. She also uses items she finds around her home.
Miller says that after after collecting scraps, her process consists of thinking about which pieces will go together, assembling them and experimenting until each work is finally put together, piece by piece. The secret to bringing every piece together is GOOP, a type of plumber’s glue.
Miller decided to start making “reassembled strays” when her parents were rebuilding their house in Texas four or five years ago. She gathered a box of water faucets, roofing pieces and other scraps from the old house to make something as a reminder of her parents’ former home.
While that piece led to the series, Miller said that her inspiration comes more from being resourceful.
“I’m more inspired to make something out of what I already have,” Miller said, “to see something laying on the ground that is going to be thrown away or put in a landfill and take the challenge to say, ‘What can I make out of this?’”
Miller has not only used her talent as a form of self-expression; she has also used it to extend her passion for recycle art to others and to benefit the community.
Miller helped create a mascot for Saluda Shoals Park’s climate change program: a large sculpture of a frog made out of a fan, a mailbox and other objects. The frog has also been displayed at the EdVenture Children’s Museum.
Another contribution Miller has made to the community was for the Runaway Torch and Crown fashion event. She made a torch by melting and twisting red, orange, yellow and clear plastic silverware to look like glass.
Miller’s work is on display at the South Carolina State Fair. Two of her frogs will be on display from Oct. 9 to Oct. 20. Chocolate Nirvana, on Richland Street, also sells her “reassembled strays.”
For Miller, it all starts by making something out of nothing, which is why all of her creations are one of a kind.