I’ve been experimenting with making a few wall pieces out of the humble yet ubiquitous cardboard toilet paper roll. I really like the fact that, when squished and glued together, they look vaguely like a honeycomb, or something cellular.
I found some beautiful and inspiring work being made out there using cardboard toilet paper cores: the narrative, miniature worlds of Anastassia Elias’ Paper Cuts series, the expressive masks of Junior Fritz Jacquet, and Yuken Teruya‘s branching corner forests.
I think the next step for me may involve color, and possibly unrolling the tubes themselves to create different shapes. It’ll be fun to keep experimenting — and the media is almost never in short supply.



24 comments
Suzanne says:
Aug 27, 2010
Everytime I see what you can do with toilet rolls it blows me away! Seriously- I love this. xo Suz
erika says:
Aug 27, 2010
Thanks, dear Suzanne!
susannah says:
Aug 22, 2010
i’m visiting for the second time today, just to gawk at this gorgeousness. and think i might do some tp-roll experimenting myself. the wall above my desk is awfully blank….
erika says:
Aug 22, 2010
hurrah and go for it! i’d love to see a photo of your creations.
Erika « says:
Aug 18, 2010
[...] I can’t find out too much about Erika from the Erikaceous blog but I do know that I love what she has created out of toilet paper rolls, which I discovered, [...]
Cardboard Toilet Paper Rolls Turned Artwork! at SuperForest says:
Aug 17, 2010
[...] (link!) [...]
Toilet Paper Art « NEWS Gate says:
Aug 17, 2010
[...] much to create some really nifty art. The leftover cardboard tubes of toilet paper rolls would do! Link If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed! Tags: blog, cardboard tubes, [...]
Amy says:
Aug 16, 2010
This is AMAZING. I love the idea and execution of it! I need to try something similar!
baobabs says:
Aug 15, 2010
Hi Erika,
This looks fantastic! I came by after seeing this on notcot! I love the idea, it’s a brilliant idea for sustainable art/design and recycling.
Tweets that mention Rolling, rolling, rolling… « erikaceous! -- Topsy.com says:
Aug 14, 2010
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Beth Loraine Bowman, Nik Reid. Nik Reid said: Environmental art! Erika of Erikaceous makes pretty from discarded waste materials such as toilet paper rolls http://bit.ly/9dXWGR [...]
xtiaan says:
Aug 13, 2010
oh i mentioned Mz donovan cos your stuff totally is like a domestic version of hers, lovin it!
oh theres that other girl who cuts twing shapes into bog rolls, whats her name?……. Ill get back to you…
xtiaan says:
Aug 13, 2010
hey ever seen tara donovans stuff? sculpture pop star takes everyday materials to the extreem, google her youll fall in love, i know i did
love your work
erika says:
Aug 13, 2010
Oh wow, she’s amazing! I’d seen photos of her plastic cups piece, but I didn’t know her name. You’re right, I love her work – totally inspiring. Thanks for the tip.
Lauren says:
Aug 12, 2010
I have the very same thing that I made a few months ago…mine are painted gold on the inside. Really nice when the sun catches it – I have mine in the top half of a window. Awesome!
erika says:
Aug 18, 2010
Sounds beautiful, Lauren! What’s the best way to paint the insides of the cylinders? Do you cut them first? I’d love to see pictures.
Mindy says:
Aug 12, 2010
Okay, that’s awesome. I just may have to try it myself. Perhaps with a picture as a centerpiece with these as a frame around it. Absolutely inspiring!
Shannon says:
Aug 12, 2010
I submitted this to notcot.org. It’s gorgeous!
erika says:
Aug 12, 2010
Thanks, Shannon! I hadn’t heard of notcot.org before — it’s great!
Laurel says:
Aug 12, 2010
I am amazed. I send mine off to the recycling center, hoping they really get recycled. But this? is just too cool.
they look shorter – cut in half? thirds?
erika says:
Aug 12, 2010
Thanks, Laurel! I cut the TP rolls into thirds for this one.
zahara says:
Aug 12, 2010
…I collect these also, so cool what you’ve done, yes, they look like cells, happy little dividing cells, creating something beautiful, something I’m fond of since studying biology and microbiology recently.
erika says:
Aug 18, 2010
Thanks, Zahara — I love their cellular quality, too. My parents were both science educators, so I’m inspired by the natural world as well.
I think it’d be such fun to create something like this:
http://epobio.net/images/plantcellwall02.jpg
out of the humble toilet paper roll.
Jordan says:
Aug 11, 2010
Brilliant! How did you fix them together? Hot glue?
erika says:
Aug 12, 2010
Thanks, Jordan. I actually used “Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue” and clothespins to hold them together during the drying process. The clothespins really help everything stay together.