Beauty in the Discarded is an extraordinary collection of works created by the students of Clarissa Callesen’s signature online course, Creating with Courage, produced by Fibre Arts Take Two.


Foreword by Clarissa Callesen:
‘A rusty bottle cap,
broken scissors,
a twig,
a scrap of torn clothing,
a crushed piece of metal.
What do you see?
Garbage? Or more?
We live in a culture of discard, disposal, and disregard. A fast culture running past life from one commitment to another, tossing food packages, while walking past the marginalized and forgetting our own true nature.
What would happen if we slowed down and looked purposefully at that rusty bottle cap in the gutter? Do you see the curves? Do you appreciate the subtle variations of color? Of texture? The marks of time?
I invited this group of creatives to do just that: slow down, see, play, experiment, and question.
They met that challenge and ran with it. They dug deep and found the courage and bravery to try new things. They used their hands and their hearts to create new worlds externally and internally. They created a beautifully supportive community and shared their vulnerability and kindness all while producing skillful unique works of art.
They took the discarded object and with care and ingenuity they gave it a new life, elevating the discarded to the sacred.

Please look closely and appreciate the magic of creativity contained in these pages.’