THE things which other people throw away are a rich resource for Devon artist Jane Perkins.

Her Pop Art-style portrait of Nelson Mandela is, you realise on closer inspection, made from thousands of bits of bric-a-brac – beads, buttons and broken "cracker" toys.

Mr Mandela's earlobe is the shapely leg of a plastic doll. A plastic spider and tiny green dinosaur are within the multi-coloured pattern on his shirt.

Her work, on display as part of Devon Open Studios, also includes a portrait of the Queen – using broken jewellery and a tiny dolls house fork in her tiara. Boris Johnson's wild hair, meanwhile, is composed of tiny plastic skeletons and broken shells.

Jane, who lives at Kenton near Exeter, is a regular at recycling centres, where she finds rich pickings for her art. She is also used to receiving bags of cast-offs to swell her stash of raw materials in her studio at home.

She was a nurse for many years, then a full-time mum, before she took a degree in textile and design at Somerset College of Art and Technology in Taunton, graduating with a first.

It was here that she rediscovered her childhood love of hoarding stuff, and using it to make new things.

"I came across these headdresses from Ecuador, which they decorate with shells and toys, and in my final year I started making brooches," she says.

From brooches, she moved to a larger scale, with her first picture, a copy of a favourite Matisse print, composed entirely of bric-a- brac. Then she did her first portrait, of a friend, followed by her picture of the Queen.

Most recent portraits include Barack Obama and Madonna, and she's currently working on a portrait of David Beckham, starting with his nose, the hardest bit.

"I always have problems with noses," she says.

She uses a photograph as a guide, sticking the pieces on with a glue gun, stepping back to get a perspective on how the work is progressing. She is exhibiting some of her portraits during Devon Open Studios, from today until September 20, at The Café in Fore Street, Topsham.

Also displaying work during the fortnight at the same venue is Janet Sainsbury, of Exeter, who uses clippings from vintage magazines, coloured envelopes and brightly coloured sweet-wrappers to create vibrant and decorative collages spun through with humour.

Her work has a nostalgic flavour – her montage Housework features an illustration of a 1950s housewife in pinny.

Her pictures in the exhibition feature children's books-like little girl figures drawn in black ink over the kaleidoscope colours and patterns of a collage background. They, too, are nostalgic, having what Janet describes as a "slightly 70s feel, reflecting childhood and hot summers in the garden".

Another artist who makes beautiful things out of recycled materials is Jan Tillet, who uses remnants of lace and organza and naturally dyes her own retextured materials to make handbags at her workshop in Cullompton. She prides herself on never buying new materials, and will be showing her creations at her studio during the Devon Open Studios fortnight.

Also among some 230 artists taking part in the Devon Open Studios, is Kathy Ramsay Carr, whose evocative, impressionistic seascapes are painted on recycled slates. Her work can be seen at her studio at Kerswell near Cullompton.

SARAH PITT

Devon Open Studios runs from today until September 20. For fuller details call 07768 164560 to request a brochure or visit www.devonartistnetwork.co.uk.