By . Shari Miller . PUBLISHED: . 06:12 EST, 14 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 07:50 EST, 14 August 2012 . While subway users simply throw away their used MetroCards, for one New York artist they are just the ticket for her next masterpiece. Nina Boesch spends hours slicing up the yellow, blue and black train cards before piecing them back together and creating amazing works of art. The 33-year-old has transformed the mundane into a host of iconic New York landscapes and portraits of the city’s famous faces, including Woody Allen, Audrey Hepburn and adopted New Yorker John Lennon. From MetroCard to masterpiece: Director and writer Woody Allen and musician John Lennon are depicted in Nina Boesch's unusual artwork . She estimates that she has sliced up more than 30,000 of the cards and admits to spending hours scouring the floors of stations around the bustling city to find new material. But the hard work has paid off for the German-born artist, who can command up to £2,230 ($3,500) for her work. Nina said: 'I can’t leave a subway station without looking around, it’s almost OCD at this point. 'Sometimes you’re lucky and you find a whole stack of them. 'My friends and co-workers collect them for me and donate them for my hobby.' Hail the cab: The iconic yellow taxis of New York feature in this piece . Going underground: Metrocards for the New York subway were the source of inspiration for Boesch's work . She first came up with the idea for the unusual mosaics 11 years ago, when she needed a cheap gift for her host family following an exchange trip to New Jersey from Germany. Thinking on her feet, she used the stacks of train tickets she had accumulated during her daily commute to make them a picture. Nina said: 'I made them a map of the United States. My host family liked it so much they kind of motivated me to go on. 'I get inspired just by walking the streets of New York, there's so much inspiration all over the city.' Hollywood heroes: Audrey Hepburn and James Dean feature on this stunning black-and-white mosaics created entirely from used MetroCards . Each piece is painstakingly produced by cutting the cards into tiny pieces, glueing them to acetate and then glazing it in glue so it stays solid. Her collages are currently on display at The Bean coffee shop in the East Village, and at the House of Art gallery in Brooklyn. Making a splash: Nina Boesch's depiction of the Lincoln Center fountain . Iconic: The Empire State building and other famous landmarks around New York feature in the works by artist Nina Boesch, who spends hours crafting each piece . Train of thought: Boesch has sliced up more than 30,000 cards to create her pieces, which also include a Metro map and an optician's eye chart . Flying off the wall: This depiction of a pigeon and other works by Nina Boesch are popular among collectors and can sell for as much as $3,500 . Raising the roof: Boesch's iconic depictions of New York's skyline have caught the eye of art lovers . Inspiration: Artist Nina Boesch says she is inspired by city life, from the landmarks of Brooklyn bridge to New York's famous residents, including violinist Itzhak Perlman .
Nina Boesch spends hours slicing up yellow, blue and black train cards and creating mosaics .
Portraits of New York's famous faces include Woody Allen, Audrey Hepburn, James Dean and John Lennon .
Once transformed into art, the discarded Subway tickets  can sell for up to $3,500 .
By . Shari Miller . PUBLISHED: . 06:12 EST, 14 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 07:50 EST, 14 August 2012 . While subway users simply throw away their used MetroCards, for one New York artist they are just the ticket for her next masterpiece. Nina Boesch spends hours slicing up the yellow, blue and black train cards before piecing them back together and creating amazing works of art. The 33-year-old has transformed the mundane into a host of iconic New York landscapes and portraits of the city’s famous faces, including Woody Allen, Audrey Hepburn and adopted New Yorker John Lennon. From MetroCard to masterpiece: Director and writer Woody Allen and musician John Lennon are depicted in Nina Boesch's unusual artwork . She estimates that she has sliced up more than 30,000 of the cards and admits to spending hours scouring the floors of stations around the bustling city to find new material. But the hard work has paid off for the German-born artist, who can command up to £2,230 ($3,500) for her work. Nina said: 'I can’t leave a subway station without looking around, it’s almost OCD at this point. 'Sometimes you’re lucky and you find a whole stack of them. 'My friends and co-workers collect them for me and donate them for my hobby.' Hail the cab: The iconic yellow taxis of New York feature in this piece . Going underground: Metrocards for the New York subway were the source of inspiration for Boesch's work . She first came up with the idea for the unusual mosaics 11 years ago, when she needed a cheap gift for her host family following an exchange trip to New Jersey from Germany. Thinking on her feet, she used the stacks of train tickets she had accumulated during her daily commute to make them a picture. Nina said: 'I made them a map of the United States. My host family liked it so much they kind of motivated me to go on. 'I get inspired just by walking the streets of New York, there's so much inspiration all over the city.' Hollywood heroes: Audrey Hepburn and James Dean feature on this stunning black-and-white mosaics created entirely from used MetroCards . Each piece is painstakingly produced by cutting the cards into tiny pieces, glueing them to acetate and then glazing it in glue so it stays solid. Her collages are currently on display at The Bean coffee shop in the East Village, and at the House of Art gallery in Brooklyn. Making a splash: Nina Boesch's depiction of the Lincoln Center fountain . Iconic: The Empire State building and other famous landmarks around New York feature in the works by artist Nina Boesch, who spends hours crafting each piece . Train of thought: Boesch has sliced up more than 30,000 cards to create her pieces, which also include a Metro map and an optician's eye chart . Flying off the wall: This depiction of a pigeon and other works by Nina Boesch are popular among collectors and can sell for as much as $3,500 . Raising the roof: Boesch's iconic depictions of New York's skyline have caught the eye of art lovers . Inspiration: Artist Nina Boesch says she is inspired by city life, from the landmarks of Brooklyn bridge to New York's famous residents, including violinist Itzhak Perlman .
Boesch spends hours slicing up the yellow, blue and black train cards before piecing them back of the city’s famous faces, including Woody and writer Woody Allen and musician John Lennon can command up to £2,230 ($3,500) for her work. Hollywood heroes: Audrey Hepburn and James Dean New York's famous residents, including violinist