'Lint Lady' pulls art from the dryer

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., Sept. 15 (UPI) -- A Virginia Beach, Va., woman known as the Lint Lady said her hobby of turning dryer lint into works of art has translated into a profitable business.

Robyn Vasile said she first came up with the idea to turn lint into layered depictions of realistic objects in 1993 while she was working as an art teacher, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reported Monday.

Vasile said she had previously prayed for a new medium to create paintings after she gave up oils and tempera prior to the births of her daughters. She began making lint pictures including depictions of fruit, puppies, sailboats, angels and locations both exotic and local.

She said she is currently finishing up a lint painting of a Washington Redskins helmet.

"I try to do something new each year," she said.

Vasile said her creations sell for amounts between $20 -- the price she charged for a picture of an angel -- and $3,500 -- the price paid for a painting of Monticello.