Patrick Amiot and Brigitte Laurent

Some of my first experiences encountering upcycled art have been alongside my family. One such memory popped into my head while recalling a trip we took to Sebastopol. My mother, sister, and I had left our air b and b in search of our first love - food. After settling on a restaurant we placed our order. My mother then suggested we explore the neighborhood while we wait for our pickup time. Expecting only to spot the sunset at best, we were pleasantly surprised.

The above image captures the first art piece we encountered by Patrick Amidt and Brigitte Laurent. Intrigued and impressed we continued our walk where we admired countless more. All of these pieces displayed such detail, innovation, and talent. Backtracking from the path of these structures which were placed in front of each house, we reached the artists house which was breathtaking.

The images I took above and below don't event begin to do the artwork covering their house justice.

After having a flourishing career in gallery ceramics, Patrick Amidt transitioned into being an urban folk artist. Always inspired by the idea of developing objects into art, he was ecstatic to find that he could make a living through the emerging genre of junk art. "The whole purpose of my work is to glorify these objects, because they have their own spirit," Amiot raves. "And I like to think the spirit of all these things lived incredible lives. If they could talk to you, they could tell amazing stories."

Accompanied by the incredible expertise of Brigitte Laurent- who paints each piece sculpted by Patrick Amidt- the duo have completely transformed the Sebastopol neighborhood atmosphere. Pictured below are just a few more of the pieces I personally had the opportunity to view.