Armed with Scraps, Lydia Ricci Builds a World of Messy Miniatures

For Lydia Ricci, a broken pencil, outdated forms, long-ago paid bills, and tattered bits of fabric are prime materials for her elaborate, small-scale worlds. The artist credits her parents’ obsession with collecting as the beginning of what’s grown into a scrap-centric process.

“My mother was an immigrant from the Ukraine who could improvise anything when we didn’t have exactly what we needed, which was most of the time. And my Italian father hasn’t ever thrown anything away because one day it might be useful, or some day he might get around to fixing it,” she writes.

a car made from scrap by Lydia Ricci — Detail of “It’s What’s Inside” (2025), collected scrap materials, 10 x 38 x 13 centimeters

Today, Ricci pieces together bits and baubles collected for the past 30 years that many other artists might relegate to the trash. Cardboard, candy wrappers, vintage tumblers, and so much more form uncanny miniatures that she refers to as “observations of what people anticipate, complain about, or muse over. Fleeting, unscripted exchanges—mundane yet deeply human—are a continual source of inspiration.”

Meticulous and playful, the resulting sculptures retain a messy, raw quality that is itself a collection of the original materials. Rather than mask irregularities and signs of wear, Ricci leaves traces of chaos and disorder that capture an authentic quality of modern life.

Find much more from the artist on Instagram.

a blue vintage car made from found scraps by Lydia Ricci — “It’s What’s Inside” (2025), collected scrap materials, 10 x 38 x 13 centimeters

an airplane carrying a couch and tv set made from found scraps by Lydia Ricci — “That’s Everything” (2024), collected scrap materials, 30 x 35 x 16 centimeters

a piano and chandelier made from found scraps by Lydia Ricci — “They Were Just Playing” (2024), vintage red Pizza Hut tumblers and collected scrap materials, 90 x 40 x 40 centimeters

a piano made from found scraps by Lydia Ricci — Detail of “They Were Just Playing” (2024), vintage red Pizza Hut tumblers and collected scrap materials, 90 x 40 x 40 centimeters

a detail of a red car made from found scraps by Lydia Ricci — Detail of “They Made It Look So Easy” (2024), collected scrap materials, 22 x 26 x 15 centimeters

an outdoor table and chair with an umbrella made from found scraps by Lydia Ricci — “We Should Have Taken Better Care of It” (2023), collected scrap materials, 8 x 8 x 10 centimeters

a small arcade game made from found scraps by Lydia Ricci — “How Did You Get So Good?” (2024), Ukrainian embroidery and collected scrap materials, 8 x 8 x 21 centimeters

an abstract clock made from scraps by Lydia Ricci — “Take a Turn” (2025), collected scrap materials, 80 x 46 x 5 centimeters

a detail of an abstract clock made from scraps by Lydia Ricci — Detail of “Take a Turn” (2025), collected scrap materials, 80 x 46 x 5 centimeters

a rotary phone made from found scraps by Lydia Ricci — “I Think We Got Disconnected” (2025), collected scrap materials, 22 x 32 x 20 centimeters

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