Let your materials guide you. Artists like Robert Rauschenberg, who often used recycled materials in his work, often don’t know what kind of sculpture or picture they are going to make when they start out; rather, they work from intuition, often using whatever is at hand. These artists are known as process-based artists. Other examples of process-based artists who use recycled materials include Dieter Roth and John Dahlsen.
Reconsider what you throw away. For each item you are about to throw in the trash can or recycling bin, ask yourself: Could this go into a work of art?
Begin working once you’ve amassed a significant quantity of materials. The exact number is up to you. As an artist, your job is to determine what relationship the objects should have with each other.
Allow for a certain amount of randomness. Remember that art has both a visual and intellectual side. Don’t let one of these dominate the other. Once you have made an object that pleases you visually while simultaneously offering the viewer some concrete idea, then you will know you have finished.