Usually, when one thinks of Eco-friendly art, images of vintage Coca-Cola bottles reused as flower vases or old soda cans glued together in the shape of a coffee table come to mind.  However, permanent marker brand Sharpie has discovered an artist who has given Eco-friendly art a new, creative spin.

Chicago based graphic designer and artist, Emmy Star Brown is best known for her freehand paintings on salvaged glass windows. Most recently, she was featured in a Sharpie commercial campaign showcasing her artistic process and discussing her passion for salvaged art. Check out the commercial and her artwork on the flip!


Brown’s detailed, spiral designs and typography are not only found on salvaged glass. Her professional website features her sketches on pots and vases, as tattoo art, and vinyl laptop decals. While the Sharpie star’s finished products are perfectly, polished pieces of art, she likes to get down and dirty to find just the right canvas. Brown gets much of her glassware and glass windows at garage sales and buried in dumpsters, as seen in the video above.

However, according to Sharpie’s Official Blog, the revolutionary recycler’s love of dumpster diving and second-hand shopping was inspired by trips to the flea market with her father as a child. A constant doodler, Brown has filled numerous notebooks with her Sharpie sketches throughout the years. Three-hundred glass windows later, Brown’s meticulous eye for detail helped sharpened the sense of control in her artwork.

Although her signature Sharpie shade is black, Brown’s palette spans from metallic gold, silver and bronze to bold, bright red. The vintage flair of her salvaged glass windows mixed with the modern, minimalist style of her intricate designs create art that is simply unparallelled. Held against the sunlight, her work is given a whole new dimension.  


Lovelies, what do you think of Emmy Star Brown’s designs? Are you inspired to reduce, reuse and recycle? Checkout more of her work on her website or shop for her pieces on her Etsy page and leave your opinions below!

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