Mark Morgan: Upcycled life

The night before recycling day, local artist Mark Morgan can likely be found strolling the streets of his neighborhood, in search of the perfect find for his next creation. A bottle of Tide detergent might make a perfect sculpture of a puppy; a discarded All bottle could become an armadillo. The assorted recyclables won't be picked up until the next morning — for now, the curbside is his oyster.

Sitting on his couch, surrounded by a fleet of completed plastic detergent-bottle animals, as well as a stash of empty bottles at the ready, Morgan notes an important distinction between recycling and his preferred art form: upcycling.

"Recycling takes a product, and as you re purpose it, it weakens or diminishes its capacity for what it was," he says. "It's not as strong; it's not as solid. When you upcycle something, you give it a completely new purpose and a complete new use. You actually make it better than it was before."

Morgan began exploring his creative side a few years ago as a way to facilitate his recovery from drug addiction. He remembers looking at an empty detergent bottle and being able to see the potential finished product waiting to be revealed. So, armed with scissors, glue, rivets and a host of other tools, Morgan got to work bringing his visions to life. He says that in addition to helping him gain a fresh start, the hobby also grew into a metaphor for his own life.

"The objects that I use to create my art are recycled objects, and they also represent myself being recycled," he says. "There's always something you can continue to do. There's another way to fix something or make it better. That also represents what I try to do in my life — make every day better than the day before."