The old saying goes “one man's trash is another man’s treasure.”
A Saint John woman proved that adage when some unique items from the city market were headed for the heap.
Dozens of old windows left over from a multi-million dollar makeover of the Saint John city market were destined for the landfill.
But one vendor saw a window of opportunity.
“We just got in there in the 11th hour. That was one of the last jobs for the tower, to get all the construction waste,” said Vicky Walker, who co-ordinated the project. “That's what it was, construction waste.”
Those pieces of construction waste were transformed into pieces of artwork by local artists who volunteered their time and talent and have all been sold at auction.
These paintings are at the Saint John Arts Centre waiting to be picked up to go to their new homes.
Including this one by artist Maggie Higgins, who normally paints on canvas.
"It was really fun with the translucency of the glass that you could actually paint on the back and the front and have two layers of painting happening,” she said.
More than $11,000 was raised from the repurposed windows.
It's going to Pro-Kids, which helps out kids in the greater Saint John area who can't afford to take part in sports, art, and other activities.
“When the construction firm said we could have them all, we just grabbed onto them and everybody was on board 100 per cent when I gave them my little idea about giving back to the community,” Walker said.
It's the type of project that Walker would like to do again that is, if she found another open window.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Lyall.
