Russian granny turns tonnes of plastic bottle caps into art
Krinitsina says she started her designs using peas, but quickly switched over to a new material
(Reuters) - One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, is the moto of one Russian pensioner who has used around two tonnes of used bottle caps to turn her village house into an open-air art gallery.
Since 2013 Nina Krinitsina has been creating her mosaic masterpieces, some including over 1,000 caps, decorating her house in the village of Makarye around 850 kilometres east of Moscow.
The initial idea belonged to her nephew, who now helps the village artist to search for grid designs on the internet.
Krinitsina says she started her designs using peas, but quickly switched over to a new material, which was easy to find and work with.
"If I walk and see a bottle lying around and it is with a cap on it - then I unscrew the cap," - says Krinitsina laughing.
The amateur artist collects materials at a nearby landfill and used daily donations from neighbours to support her hobby.
The pensioner has over thirty works, mostly inspired by Russian fairy tales and classic Soviet cartoons, nailed to the walls of her house and all over her garden, with some of the larger designs taking up to three months to complete.
"It calms me down. Settles my nerves," - Krinitsina says, adding that she spends any spare minute on the pastime which has already made her a local tourist attraction, with families bringing young children to marvel at her creations.
