4/2/2009
Upcycling quickly becoming all the rage
The Artists' Studio
By Alicia Grega-Pikul
Upcycling quickly becoming all the rage
The Artists' Studio
By Alicia Grega-Pikul
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Reduce, reuse, recycle is a mouthful of a catch phrase. Many green-doers have come to use “upcycling” to describe the practice of dressing up old hats and second-hand roses to look brand-new, or better than new, as is the case of an increasing number of objects being saved from landfills by visionaries who are turning trash into works of art.
It took a while for the masses to catch on, but anything and everything eco is now all the rage. And as consumers start putting their money where their conscience is, it seems the supply is flooding in to meet the demand. More and more organic and sustainable bamboo fabrics are popping up in stores. Even Payless recently announced a new eco-friendly line of shoes is on the way. But the greener choice, advise ecologists, is not manufacturing new things at all, but finding a way to utilize what already exists.
The term upcycling is generally credited to authors William McDonough and Michael Braungart, who first applied it in their 2002 book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.
Far beyond the milk jug bird feeder you may have made in school, upcycled merchandise includes stenciled vintage suitcases, bracelets made from old belts or candy wrappers, cassette tape satchels and notebooks, wallet and shoes made from old rubber tires, and stylish totes refashioned from rice and coffee burlap bags.
Cristin Powers was betting on the attraction of upcycling when she opened GreenBeing on Adams Avenue in October. The boutique will welcome an exhibit titled Bricolage: REBIRTH this month that showcases the work of 14 Marywood University students challenged by instructor Ted Michalowski to address the theme of rebirth using only found objects at hand.
Students in the Visual Concepts class interpreted the theme to incorporate natural, spiritual and social subjects. The materials they applied include cardboard, plastic, aluminum, wood, cloth, tin cans, nails and string. According to an announcement for the event, “these scrounged materials were manipulated so that they no longer resembled that of their original purpose, in order to create something much more beautiful.”
Friday’s opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. will feature live bricolage music by When I Float Backwards. The student works will remain on display through April 28. Call 341-9988 for more information or visit www.shopgreenbeing.com.
Stretching his influence well-beyond the 570, art entrepreneur Ken Marquis (Marquis Art & Frame in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre) launched LandfillArt Inc. (landfillart.org) in October with the hopes of involving at least 1,000 artists from around the globe by the time it is completed in approximately 2011. Participating artists will apply their creative technique of choice to a formerly rusted hubcap, cleaned and primed into a “metal canvas.”
Of those artists, Marquis has imagined one from each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, and one representing each state in the U.S. As of March, artists from 43 different countries were already on board. Among the more familiar contributor names are Noreen Blewitt, Austin Burke, Jenn Bell and Elizabeth Parry-Faist.Further effort will be made to involve 20 percent “non-traditional artists,” i.e. mentally and physically challenged, politically-oppressed, elementary school students and incarcerated artists.
“As a gallery owner for over 30 years, I maintain that artists, generally speaking, are more ecologically in touch and environmentally aware,” Marquis states at www.landfillart.org.
The project founder plans to publish a book showcasing all 1,041 works before selecting 200 to display in a touring exhibition.
“The book and traveling show will publicly portray the global art community’s effort to positively impact the environment through repurposing previous metal waste into great landfill art,” wrote Marquis.
For project updates or to request application information, visit www.landfillart.org or www.myspace.com/landfillart.
One of the most pleasing aspects of upcycling is that you don’t have to leave it to professional artists and academics. Turn this month’s Earth Day clean-ups into scavenger hunts and pick up ingredients for your own creative projects. Ideas can be found on the Web and locally in workshops like Sally Robinson’s Art in Nature Series at the Lackawanna College Environmental Institute on the Moffat Estate in Covington Township. On April 18, the artist will teach a recycled jewelry course, directing participants toward the creation of upcycled accessories from natural, found objects and broken pieces. The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. until noon. A fee of $10 applies and includes materials. Registration is required. Call 842-1506 for more information.
-agrega@timesshamrock.com
It took a while for the masses to catch on, but anything and everything eco is now all the rage. And as consumers start putting their money where their conscience is, it seems the supply is flooding in to meet the demand. More and more organic and sustainable bamboo fabrics are popping up in stores. Even Payless recently announced a new eco-friendly line of shoes is on the way. But the greener choice, advise ecologists, is not manufacturing new things at all, but finding a way to utilize what already exists.
The term upcycling is generally credited to authors William McDonough and Michael Braungart, who first applied it in their 2002 book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.
Far beyond the milk jug bird feeder you may have made in school, upcycled merchandise includes stenciled vintage suitcases, bracelets made from old belts or candy wrappers, cassette tape satchels and notebooks, wallet and shoes made from old rubber tires, and stylish totes refashioned from rice and coffee burlap bags.
Cristin Powers was betting on the attraction of upcycling when she opened GreenBeing on Adams Avenue in October. The boutique will welcome an exhibit titled Bricolage: REBIRTH this month that showcases the work of 14 Marywood University students challenged by instructor Ted Michalowski to address the theme of rebirth using only found objects at hand.
Students in the Visual Concepts class interpreted the theme to incorporate natural, spiritual and social subjects. The materials they applied include cardboard, plastic, aluminum, wood, cloth, tin cans, nails and string. According to an announcement for the event, “these scrounged materials were manipulated so that they no longer resembled that of their original purpose, in order to create something much more beautiful.”
Friday’s opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. will feature live bricolage music by When I Float Backwards. The student works will remain on display through April 28. Call 341-9988 for more information or visit www.shopgreenbeing.com.
Stretching his influence well-beyond the 570, art entrepreneur Ken Marquis (Marquis Art & Frame in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre) launched LandfillArt Inc. (landfillart.org) in October with the hopes of involving at least 1,000 artists from around the globe by the time it is completed in approximately 2011. Participating artists will apply their creative technique of choice to a formerly rusted hubcap, cleaned and primed into a “metal canvas.”
Of those artists, Marquis has imagined one from each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, and one representing each state in the U.S. As of March, artists from 43 different countries were already on board. Among the more familiar contributor names are Noreen Blewitt, Austin Burke, Jenn Bell and Elizabeth Parry-Faist.Further effort will be made to involve 20 percent “non-traditional artists,” i.e. mentally and physically challenged, politically-oppressed, elementary school students and incarcerated artists.
“As a gallery owner for over 30 years, I maintain that artists, generally speaking, are more ecologically in touch and environmentally aware,” Marquis states at www.landfillart.org.
The project founder plans to publish a book showcasing all 1,041 works before selecting 200 to display in a touring exhibition.
“The book and traveling show will publicly portray the global art community’s effort to positively impact the environment through repurposing previous metal waste into great landfill art,” wrote Marquis.
For project updates or to request application information, visit www.landfillart.org or www.myspace.com/landfillart.
One of the most pleasing aspects of upcycling is that you don’t have to leave it to professional artists and academics. Turn this month’s Earth Day clean-ups into scavenger hunts and pick up ingredients for your own creative projects. Ideas can be found on the Web and locally in workshops like Sally Robinson’s Art in Nature Series at the Lackawanna College Environmental Institute on the Moffat Estate in Covington Township. On April 18, the artist will teach a recycled jewelry course, directing participants toward the creation of upcycled accessories from natural, found objects and broken pieces. The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. until noon. A fee of $10 applies and includes materials. Registration is required. Call 842-1506 for more information.
-agrega@timesshamrock.com
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