When my wife and I were expecting our first child, I made a switch from using a paintbrush or etching needle as my art mediums to using a conventional office stapler. Since I have a home studio, I didn’t want the toxicity of these traditional materials to affect our unborn child. All my life, I needed to create unique arts, but now it was imperative to do so with healthier alternatives.

I think my staple mosaic arts are not a far departure from the etchings or cityscape oil paintings that I am known for. Staples, just like an etched line, can be bold and graphic or soft and subdued. When I use colored staples, each one acts like a dash of paint in a painting, and when viewed from only a few steps back is optically mixed.

The stapling process can take as long as six months, like my most recent creation Darth Vader. One mosaic consists of 10,000 to 33,000+ staples. I purchase colored staples for my art installations and place each one precisely in relation to its location and the color of neighboring staples. The choice of subject matter goes back to my childhood and my continued affinity of the Star Wars characters. I was hooked after the first few minutes of the first movie; it captured my imagination and has continued to live on in my unique designs.

More info: jameshaggerty.net

Limbo

Multi-colored staples on painted board | 40 x 32″ | 21,458 Staples

Me Working On “Did You Hear That?”

The Side

Multi-colored staples on painted board | 40 x 32″ | 10,496 Staples

Detail Of Helmet – The Side

Detail Of Forehead – Limbo

Did You Hear That?

Multi-colored staples on painted board | 29 x 40″ | 33,580 staples

Detail Of Eye -“Did You Hear That?”

Darth

Multi-Colored staples on painted board | 25 x 40″ | 12,352 Staples

Detail Of Nose -“Darth”

“Pencil” And “Eraser”

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