24-04-2025
Dallas artist turns trash into treasure with stunning cereal box portraits
Earth Day is a time to reflect on preserving and protecting the environment, and one local artist is doing her part through art.
Jenny Grumbles is the artist behind four portraits hanging inside Galleria Dallas.
CBS News Texas
Shoppers passing by quickly notice these aren't typical portraits made with paint; they're made out of cereal boxes that have been cut out and perfectly placed to create the image. A close look reveals national facts and cereal labels hidden within the artwork.
The birth of the cereal series
Grumbles calls it her cereal series. She says the idea came to her while having a bowl of cereal.
"My son and I eat a lot of cereal, and every time I see the boxes, I just think about their colors and the marketing on them. I don't know what exact moment it clicked, but I was like, that needs to be my palette," Grumbles said.
The journey of cereal art
She asked friends and neighbors for their leftover boxes, and once she had enough, she created her first piece.
"I tried it out. It worked, so here I am making cereal art now. One of the most amazing parts of the cereal series is that I'm fully recycling trash to treasure," Grumbles said.
Portraits with a twist
Grumbles decided to only do portraits of people she loves, such as Taylor Swift, Tupac, and Dolly Parton. Each portrait is given a punny name.
"Kendrick Lamar is 'Frosted Mini Beats,' and then Luka Charms is Luka Doncic," Grumbles said.
Time-consuming craft is labor of love
When it comes to creating each piece, she says it's truly a labor of love.
"Painting takes way less time than this. This takes about ten times as long as painting. If I want a certain color with cereal, I have to be like, okay, let's go find that exact shade of pink. Okay, let's go through my pink box. Oh, look, there's not one in there. Let's go through all the boxes," Grumbles said.
Regardless of how time-consuming it may be, Grumbles hopes her sustainable art inspires people.
