'Anna's Gone Bananas': Lafayette environmental artist uses repurposed items to create her pieces

Andrea Grajeda, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
·2 min read

Sep. 6—For Ann Manzanares, everyday objects can be given a second artistic life.

She loves making unique art out of repurposed materials, as it helps items avoid taking up space in a landfill.

"I get really upset when I think about how horrible we are to this earth. Maybe I just see beauty in everything," Manzanares said.

Manzanares, a Lafayette-based "environmental artist," is finishing up her latest upcycled project "Anna's Gone Bananas," a Day of the Dead meets "Alice in Wonderland" themed piece made entirely from upcycled and repurposed materials.

She was challenged to make a project with only materials found in her art studio. The only additional supplies brought in were glue, paint and nails.

A different part of the mind is used when repurposing items, Manzanares said. She has used a drawer to make the body of the caterpillar, a CD rack to form the body of the White Rabbit and fake plants to make the Mad Hatter's hat. The faces of the characters are made from plastic skulls.

"I do have a creative imagination, and I've been having fun with it," she said.

Manzanares said she hopes to display her art and sell some pieces Sept. 14-15 at her studio at Lafayette Self Storage, 701 West Geneseo St.

Her latest project is a departure from her usual projects, which tend to steer toward furniture and reupholstery. It has also served as a bit of therapy.

Manzanares is a recent empty nester, with all three of her daughters recently moving out of the Boulder County area. Then her brother, Edward Dean Sanchez, died on Aug. 1.

She explained she has a lot of social anxiety, and her outgoing brother had a way of bringing Manzanares out of her shell. After he died, Manzanares felt she could not finish her latest project. But before his death, Sanchez told Manzanares to "just finish it" and so she did.

"I've been grieving his death through my art, you know? But I'm having fun with it, and it gets me out of my head," Manzanares said.