This is a giant mosaic which is a variable piece of artwork that can be any size and shape, made from rubbish!! I started on this project because I wanted to make something inventive and interesting, plus it's a great way to recycle.I really wanted to make something colourful and invent a new texture for art, and what better than recycled rubbish! Growing up in a world that changes every day, with new advances in technology and life I wanted to transfer every advance in the world since 2000 as it was a new millennium.

This design took about 4 weeks but that's because it's so vast, if you decided to create a smaller piece of artwork it could take from an hour to a day. The best thing about this is that anything goes as long as it is possible to be attached with hot glue. You can also keep adding objects so it can be an ongoing project if you want it to be. If you are bored you can just plug in the glue gun and get sticking even better if you have children or are in a school this is a fantastic thing to do because it teaches about recycling and is fun.

Step 1: What You Will Need

You will need:
1) A design to stick onto, I used a large piece of wood painted with my school logo, make sure it is sturdy and not too flexible ( I have included a digital version of my design so you can see what my art was based on).

2) Glue sticks and a Glue gun (Low heat or High heat).

3) Lots of clean rubbish in the colours of your design, I used : Green, Red, Blue, Yellow (these are the colours of our school houses) and Black. You can either use objects related to your design or you can use completely random objects as well. Make sure you also try to get the size and shape of the objects right.

4) Paint and brushes only as a backup ( not recommended as it destroys the point of the artwork) use the paint only if you have a deadline to work with or you really want to.

5) Patience! This piece of art takes a long time to make, as you have to find the objects and glue them on. It can take less than a day if you have everything ready and a small design.

Step 2: Tips (Read These Before You Begin)

When starting you design, work on the bigger parts of the design first, which will take the most objects, do this in case you run out of objects or time so you can improvise if needed.

When glueing on a surface, when adequate glue is applied, gently lift the gun about 5mm and swirl the glue gun in a circular motion. This will stop 'stringy bits' from the glue forming when you move the gun, if the 'string' is still made, just use a hair-dryer to melt it or alternately just pull it away with your hand.

Try to add objects that mean something, for a brief example I added a 3d printed 'bloodhound' and a few pens to show that I use 3d printers a lot in school (we have 3d printers) and pens aren't rare to find!

Ask! If you are low on objects to stick on, just ask your neighbours or colleges in school or work. You will be amazed to see how much coloured things people have!

If you are low on resources you may have to buy some objects, we didn't as we have a vast school but if you need things like beeds to fill a small gap then craft shops are your best bet.

Start with bigger objects then medium sized objects to fill the gaps following with small objects to fill the remainder gaps and tiny objects to cover the nooks and crannies, here are some examples of sizes...

Big: Nail File, Screw Driver, Rubber Duck, Door Knob or a Plug, these are just a few things of what could be used, you may even have bigger objects at your disposal.

Medium: Pen/Pencil, Memory Stick, Card Holders, Lego, Bottle Lids, again you these are things you could use, you may have more interesting or better shaped objects.

Small: Screws, Coffee Capsules, Pencil Sharpener, Pen Lid, Crayon, Fridge Magnets, you can really be inventive with this part of the art.

Tiny: Glitter, Beeds, Buttons, Toys, this is the hardest section because this is where you make sure cover the entire design so none of the background shows.

These tips are a guide only and you may have your own techniques which could be better than these.

Step 3: Glueing to Design

Start by glueing your objects to the design. You can either glue the object then affix it or glue the surface and attach the object. Glueing then affixing is more effective on objects like pens or rulers that are hard to get the glue in the shape of the proposed item to be fixed. However glueing the surface then affixing is the most safest and quickest way. It's hard to burn yourself unless you touch the glue and it gives you time to orientate your object before setting. This technique is quick because you can glue a large surface and affix separate items to the glued area.

Step 4: Keep Going!

Then just keep going, mine measures 1.5meters by 1.5meters and has a depth of 5cm but yours can be any size you like, maybe make a world record or have a competition all I say is :Be inspired, Be creative and Enjoy it.