• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Tricia Rose Burt

Speaker. Storyteller. Coach.

  • About
  • Storytelling & Speaking
  • Coaching
    • One-on-One Coaching
    • Workshops
    • Story Editing and Direction
  • No Time to be Timid
    • The Podcast
    • Manifesto
    • The Retreat
  • Media & Art
    • Media
    • Artwork
  • Work with Me

Making Music out of Trash

January 25, 2013 by Tricia Rose Burt

For several years, I made artwork out of used tea bags — partly out of choice, and partly because that was all I could afford. Having just left the corporate world, I was living in Ireland where I had no money for art supplies (or anything else for that matter), but a huge desire to make artwork. I looked for materials that were inexpensive. You can’t get much cheaper than used tea bags, and in Ireland, there was an abundant supply. Where one person sees trash, another person sees beauty.

From the Relationship Between Use and Beauty Series, 2004

Which brings me to this incredibly inspiring video about a children’s orchestra from a Paraguayan slum. Their instruments are constructed out of trash recycled from a landfill, the center of their community. As orchestra director Favio Chavez says, “The world sends us garbage. We send back music.”

The music is magical, the message beyond moving. Thanks to Lisa Walborsky for introducing me to this story.

*****

Please help me build my online audience!

  • Please share this blog with your friends — just use the icons below!
  • Leave a comment. Feedback is great.
  • Want to receive these blogs in your email inbox? Please register at the top right of this page. While you’re there, you can like my artist’s Facebook page and follow me on Twitter.
  • As always, thanks for your support!

Filed Under: General Thoughts

Footer

Download the No Time to be Timid Manifesto — guidelines to navigating a more creative life: Download Guide
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin
  • Instagram
  • About
  • Storytelling & Speaking
  • Coaching
  • No Time to be Timid
  • Media & Art
  • Work with Me

Copyright © 2025 Tricia Rose Burt. Built by Stefan Matei.