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I’m stretching the definition of décor here but Ilona Staples‘ plastic bottle mobiles captivated me so completely that I just had to blog about them, especially in light of this weekend’s Queen West Art Crawl in Toronto.

Installed this week in the lobby of artist hub 401 Richmond, Staples’ “Bubbles”–there are about a dozen of them–are constructed from pop bottle tops and bottoms, some clear, some green, some a combination of both. The installation is part of 401 Richmond’s Art in the Halls program and the work will remain up until Toronto’s boffo, all-night art party, Nuit Blanche (October 4-5).

The pieces are available for sale priced from $50 for the smallest spheres up to $800 for the largest. I asked Staples if she ever wires them into light pendants, which she has, “but changing the lightbulb is a hassle because you have to unscrew and rescrew some of the parts.” Staples is doing a Bubbles installation in Montreal later this year that will be lit up with Christmas lights–fun! “My work is mostly about food, consumption and the body,” explains the artist. “I started working with the bottles because my husband and I drink too much of this stuff at home and it’s bad for health and the environment.”

The Queen West Art Crawl, or QWAC as it’s affectionately known, runs all weekend in the Queen West vicinity stretching from Bathurst Street to Roncesvalles Avenue. An outdoor art exhibit and sale takes over Trinity Bellwoods Park Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 13 & 14, 11 am – 6 pm). If you’ve got empty wall space, QWAC provides a great oppotunity to wake things up.