Using unorthodox art mediums

First off, what is a medium in art?

A quick Google search returns the following: art materials or art supplies used to create a work of art.

Simple enough.

This typically includes oil paints, watercolors, acrylic paints, clay, gouache, lead, charcoal, etc.

One of my favorite artists, Anselm Keifer, is a great example of somebody who has seemingly mastered creative uses of unorthodox mediums, such as stray, ash, copper wire, and even diamonds. 

I began experimenting with unorthodox mediums in art with my piece "Coffeestains." I was in the middle of an exploratory phase with liquids and beverages- it was in that same period that I created "Watermarks" and "Coffee Mug." 

And as I began staining the "Coffeestains" canvas with leftover, room-temperature coffee, I realized that the grounds of that very coffee were still in the coffee machine. I quickly moved over to the machine and extracted them. I would use them later to mix in with the paint I used on the piece.

Feeling the grounds grit into the canvas juxtaposed with the smooth paint was invigorating and a little bit nerve-wracking. I had never used an alternative art medium that way. 

I had never mixed anything with paint, except water or other paint.

Experimenting with unorthodox mediums is a rite of passage for any artist. My advice is this: look around and use what you have.

Maybe you don't have diamonds laying around, but maybe you have yarn or hair or dirt. Experiment. Pick it up. Work with it.

Use it in a way that differs from its traditional use. 

After all, isn't that what art is all about?

TRISHA WILES