STYLE : DESIGN : From Trash to Treasures

Artist Heidi Wianecki, who’s known for making witty pieces of furniture that resemble sketches come to life and lamps and chandeliers from sticks, stones and old jello molds, admits to being “a trasher.” “I go out at night and drive the alleyways, looking for discards,” she says. “Some people see junk and call it trash; a trasher sees trash and says, ‘Great score!’ ”

Since Wianecki insists that “art is a lifestyle and a process, not a product,” it’s no wonder that her favorite pastime for the past 15 years has been hunting castoff items and carrying the best of them back to her Pacific Palisades home. Her husband, Gregg Miller, and children, Max and Kyle, all share the “trashing” instinct, so family vacations inevitably yield new treasures, too. For the last few years, they’ve been scavenging for rocks, tiles and shells to be used in the mosaic pathways Wianecki is creating in the front and back yards. Other finds have been converted into novel home furnishings: a rusted-out barbecue serves as an occasional table in the living room; old cork-backed bottle caps bearing names such as Jurk, Quickie and Kickapoo Joy Juice stud kitchen benches and a back door. “I think they are so great--like little treasures,” Wianecki says.

Of course, some “trashing” nights are more fruitful than others. Recently, Wianecki hit the jackpot, finding a plaid ‘50s thermos (now a vase in the kitchen) and a yellow Fiesta pitcher with a wood handle. She found both propped against an alley wall, outside a house being vacated by its occupants. Says Wianecki with obvious relish: “They were moving: That’s when I get the best finds.”