The Art of Reuse

Held in Celebration of Earth Day

Another Earth Day has come and gone, and the Columbus Area Arts Council once again sponsored a show featuring artists who creatively reuse and recycle materials to create their work.

Fourteen, central Indiana artists displayed a variety of art and fine crafts, which included assemblage, metal, sculpture, leatherwork, mixed media, fiber arts, and weaving. All the work was created from scrap materials or made of repurposed items.

Metal sculptor Nick McGill displayed a unique piece made from old machine parts, and Martina Celerin showed her spectacular, three-dimensional weavings. Anita Hopper displayed a gorgeous handbag created from repurposed, leather coats and upholstery.

The husband and wife team of Larry and Marilyn Brackney showed found art figures, while their daughter Susan displayed a mixed media piece created using printmaking and collage.

Wood turners Bill Griffith and Chad Shock created beautiful bowls from found wood, and Sophie Miller made good use of old clothing to create an architectural stitchery.

Cappi Phillips showed a humorous interpretation of a fish covered in found objects, while Jan Wantz recovered ordinary dryer lint to create a beautiful, miniature quilt.

Chris Gustin turned mill end scrap yarn into a beautiful throw rug, and Tim Carter-East pounded flowers and leaves and combined the print with collage to create his work.

The Art of Reuse was a good preview of an upcoming show to be held on November 19th in downtown Columbus. Fifty professional artists who repurpose materials will show their work in Déjà vu Art and Fine Craft Show.

To learn more about some of the participating artists, we’ve linked to their Web sites.

Tim Carter-East: www.timothycartereast.com/
Martina Celerin: www.martinacelerin.com/
Chris Gustin: www.homesteadweaver.com/
Anita Hopper: www.refindoriginals.com/
Nick McGill: www.machinesculpture.com/index.php
Cappi Phillips: www.moesache.com/

What's In This Issue

• The Art of Reuse Art Show
• Pick Up One Piece of Trash
• Earth Day Web Sites
• New Delhi Hosts World Environment Day
• Leftovers:
• Colorform Art Contest 2011

Spring 2011

• Main Page
• Revised Lessons
• Newsletter Index
• Scout Badge Matcher
• Lesson Categories
• Trashmatcher

Leftovers

Colorforms' Art Contest 2011

Recently, the people who make Colorforms, the children’s, plastic-based toy, contacted us to ask our help in announcing an art contest they’re holding in honor of their 60th anniversary.

Based on simple shapes, such as squares and rectangles, Colorforms allows kids to use the shapes to create whatever they can imagine. The material is easily removed so it can be repositioned and used over and over again to create objects and scenes.

Open to children who are ages 3-12, contestants are asked to create any art they like. While the Colorforms product does not have to be used in the entry, one prize includes a $500 U.S. Treasury bond prize to be awarded for the best use of the product as an art medium.

Other prizes include three art camp scholarships and a collection of Colorforms products, which will be given to the winner of each age group. Complete rules for the contest, which runs through September, can be found at

http://www.ugames.com/colorforms/ArtCampContest.asp

For those of you who live in the southern hemisphere, you’re probably seeing the beautiful colors of fall now. But after a long, hard winter, we, who live in the north, are happily enjoying green grass and spring flowers once again. Welcome, spring!

People in some parts of the world celebrated another Earth Day on April 22, and this month, many of you will observe World Environment Day and Week. You’ve probably heard the saying, “Make Everyday Earth Day,” and we encourage you to think about WED in the same way.

In this issue of The Re-Source, we’ll tell you about a wonderful art show featuring work created from scrap materials and repurposed items. No bleach bottle pigs or macaroni necklaces here! Be prepared to see professional work made by artists who do strive to “make everyday Earth Day.”

We’ll tell you about an international initiative to encourage citizens of the Earth to pick up at least one piece of trash during a specific 24-hour period, and we’ll link you to Web sites with Earth Day themes.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with World Environment Day, we’ll introduce you to this important work sponsored by the United Nations. Finally, we’ll link you to an environmentally friendly product and a children’s art contest that offers some outstanding prizes.