At any given time, the Marion Art Center has galleries full of artwork. The current theme is “Found Objects Show,” where artists repurpose materials for the sake of their masterpieces.

Joan Hausrath art is a little on the unusual side. It features figurines made of household items and topped with old-fashioned doll heads.

“I know they’re creepy,” she said. “But I didn’t want them to be real cute. I want them to have an edge.”

Her inspiration came after a few winter trips to Mexico, where she saw “found objects” artwork and “thought they were cool.”

“I wanted to take them home, but I wasn’t sure I could get it back in one piece,” Hausrath said. “So I made one myself. And then I had parts left over so I made another one. And then I kept making them.”

John Nadeau, of JNJ Woodworking in Marion, takes a different approach. He uses found materials to create furniture, such as taking two chairs and creating a bench.

“It’s artwork you can sit on and enjoy,” Nadeau said.

Though this is his first time showing his furniture in an art show, Nadeau said he’s always supported the arts.

“I’m an art geek,” he said. “We’re all part of that same group."

John deMelim went outside of his comfort zone for his artwork. Primarily a painter, he decided to experiment with a new material.

“My current work is all using found wood,” he said. “Old, textured, aged, distressed wood.”

He creates assemblage pieces using wood and other materials he can get his hands on.

“I find materials, and my friends give me pieces they think I can use,” he said. “I lay it all out and then my son helps assemble it. It takes an engineer to put together.”

When it comes to deciding how the pieces will work together, deMelim said he just does what they tell him.

“I don’t think about it,” he said. “I just do it. The pieces talk to me.”