artist spotlight

Beyond the Carton: How Lilli Petri Upcycles Egg Boxes into Appealing Dimensional Art Pieces

I have something delightfully unconventional to show you today! We'll explore the fascinating mixed-media world of Lilli Petri, an artist who creates her work in Germany's Black Forest. While she formally studied traditional art and painting, in recent years she has found immense joy by upcycling ordinary paper egg cartons into lively three-dimensional abstract canvases. 

 

A blonde artist in profile, kneeling on a tiled floor while painting a massive, highly textured green abstract canvas. She holds a white paint palette in one hand and delicately touches a brush to a splash of pink and yellow paint in the center of the artwork. 

 

The Art of Paperboard Cutting 

 

 

Lilli told me that her process begins simply enough: she uses ordinary household scissors to manually cut shapes from molded paperboard cartons collected by supportive friends and neighbors. Looking at the sheer scale of her work, it's hard to comprehend how her hands aren't constantly protesting! Some of her largest canvases measure 40" x 40" (100x100cm) and require an astonishing 1600-1800 individually cut circles.

 

A high-angle close-up view of a hand with a finger pointing to the raised circular edges of a gray, molded paper pulp egg carton resting on a terra-cotta tiled floor. 

 

A top-down view of a container overflowing with thousands of tiny, pre-cut circular discs made from upcycled egg cartons, lightly stained in muted pastel shades of yellow, green, pink, and gray.  

 

In a nod to zero waste, Lilli utilizes nearly every scrap of each carton. In addition to her signature circles, she deftly slices the paper pulp material to create vases, flower petals, leaves, and branches. 


A close-up of a hand holding a long strip of olive-green painted egg carton paperboard. Several clean circles have been punched out of the strip, showcasing the manual cutting process. 

 

 A striking dimensional painting of a vibrant bouquet of flowers inside a blue vase with red polka dots, set against an aqua-blue textured background. The blossoms are composed of hundreds of tiny, multi-colored paper circles packed tightly together. 

 

Layering Color and Texture 

 

 

To build her backgrounds, Lilli works with vibrant acrylic or oil paints, sometimes applying the medium in thick, luscious layers to achieve texture before positioning the egg carton cutouts. Her glue of choice is diluted Ponal Leim, a premium German wood glue, known for being a reliable, water-based PVA adhesive.

 

A beautiful macro shot of dimensional pink and white paper roses crafted from torn egg carton pulp, coated in thick acrylic paint to mimic real, ruffled flower petals nestled against deep blue and green background strokes. 

 

In this detail shot of a striking floral piece, she utilized torn, organic carton shapes to craft blooming relief sculptures that rise from the canvas.


A minimalist mixed-media artwork split horizontally. The top half features elegant blue paper branches and buds on a white canvas; the bottom half is a dense, mesmerizing grid of bright red and pink concentric paper rings.  

 

Inside the Studio 

 

 

She often works with the canvas flat on the floor, but sometimes prefers to place it on an easel.

 

Lilli Petri kneels on a rug on her living room floor, focused on gluing rows of tiny white paper circles onto a massive red and white canvas. A cozy wood-burning stove with a bright fire glows in the background next to a sleeping calico cat. 

 

Looking Ahead 

 

 

Lilli's last formal exhibition took place in January of 2025, and she is currently working toward a brand-new solo show for next year that will focus on dimensional floral works. She's actively scouting the perfect venue to bring this vision to life.


A mesmerizing abstract square canvas filled with a mosaic of thousands of tiny paper pulp rings in teal, lavender, white, and purple. Several large, concentric circular patterns are highlighted using bright orange and yellow paper discs.

 

Lilli's Instagram community is as enamored by her resourcefulness as I am. Enthusiastic commenters leave glowing remarks like, I'm never looking at egg cartons the same way ever again! Stunning! and So awesome!

 


0 German artist Lilli Petri, wearing all white, sits smiling on a vintage chair next to a newly completed artwork hanging on a white wall. The canvas features a striking textured orange upper field and a charcoal gray bottom border decorated with dimensional white paper flowers.
Lilli Petri

 

 

Her Instagram posts are a treasure trove of process videos and studio peeks. Follow Lilli's creative journey at @lilllis_art where she genuinely loves sharing her upcycling technique and welcome questions about materials and methods. Her paintings can be seen on Instagram via @lillipetri13 and you can discover a collection of her dimensional work in this Instagram Highlight. 


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