olympia_dumpster_divers stories

Go Green repurposed plastic bag art doll by Ruby Re-Usable

We here at Olympia Dumpsters believe in going green everyday, of course, but on this day when (almost) everyone is into the wearing of the green (or something like that), we will celebrate some green-themed art

We don’t know if Patrick Dougherty is Irish or Scottish or what, but we loved his installation at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma and think this one in France is appropriate for St Patrick’s Day …

  Sortie de Cave by Patrick Dougherty, photo by Charles Crie

photo by Courtney Blethen/The Seattle Times

The designers at Haute Trash wear their love of the green on their sleeves, and everywhere else, for that matter … and on April 17, they will be strutting their stuff for the Seattle Re-Store’s 9th annual Recycled Art and Fashion Show at the New York Fashion Academy in Ballard (ticket info HERE)

Okay, we could go on forever about green art and art critics named Green, green blogs, green living, green shopping, Green Drinks, etc, but it is time to go purchase some green shamrock-shaped bagels

The display of recycled art work by Stu Gullstrand (his Clown Mask is pictured above) and Ruby Re-Usable at the Hands On Children’s Museum in Olympia, WA was written about in the Sunday Olympian — read Art Engages Children in Recycling by Molly Gilmore for more info (but since the article did not include pictures, go HERE to see some!)

We posted about our good friend, the amazing Marita Dingus, twice last month (for Black History Month and for her latest public art installation: Recycled Child); NOW we want you to view a video about Children of the Sea, Marita’s recycled art installation at the Douglass Truth Seattle Public Library

Remember when Olympia Dumpster Divers went to Tacoma on Valentine’s Day to see our friend Jenny Fillius’ latest recycled art?  Well, Art Zone’s Nancy Guppy also visited the EnviroHouse to see Jenny’s work, and it is the lead story in the 3/5/2010 Art Zone episode

Calls for Recycled Art

The EnviroHouse in Tacoma, WA has a call out for recycled art; deadline for this cycle is March 24, 2010, more info HERE

Desotorow Gallery in Savannah, GA, wants recycled art for a show entitled Redux; submission deadline is March 26, 2010, more info HERE

Icicle Arts and Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort in Leavenworth, WA requests recycled art for a juried show, deadline is March 31, 2010, more info HERE

and last but not least, our friend Vernita N’Cognita will present another Art from Detritus recycled art juried show, this one will be at Pure Light Gallery in Turner’s Falls, MA, deadline is April 1, 2010, more info HERE

Recycled Art Alphabet Quilt by Ruby Re-Usable

Wonderful Me Flies Away by Ruby Re-Usable

Olympia Dumpster Divers Stuart Gullstrand and Ruby Re-Usable have recycled art work on display at the Olympia Hands On Children’s Museum’s “Looking At Art Gallery,” courtesy of  Matter Gallery (more pics HERE).

Art from recycled materials is all the rage now, and that’s a good thing for the environment, but it’s not a new thing. It started with Picasso and Braque before anyone ever heard of recycling. Matter Gallery owner Jo Gallaugher understands that it takes more than choice of materials to make good art, and she chooses artists with an eye toward quality, whether the work be jewelry, furniture, sculpture or some other art form.  Read more of Alec Clayton’s review of Bret Lyon’s work at Matter Gallery in the Volcano HERE

3 masks by Stuart Gullstrand 

Marita and Ruby pose in front of Recycled Child (detail) by Marita Dingus

Ruby Re-Usable and Second-hand Sid journeyed up north to visit our friend and recycled art queen Marita Dingus, who was teaching one of her  mixed recycled media construction classes at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle.  Marita took a lunch break to walk us over to Seattle Central Community College and show us her latest public art installation, Recycled Child.  More pics HERE

Recycled Child by Marita Dingus greets students and visitors at the Harvard Avenue ground-floor hallway of Seattle Central Community College’s newly-renovated Edison North building

from the Washington State Arts Commission:

The artwork utilizes a combination of hand-painted elements mixed with an assemblage of found materials. Recycled Child is adjacent to the recycling program; the artist worked with staff to assemble much of the materials for the sculpture and gathered computer parts from the Information Technology department, also located in the building. Dingus states, ”Recycled Child is a metaphor for the latent potential inside of ethnic minorities who are often discarded and undervalued.”

The art selection committee at Seattle Central Community College met six times over several months, first discussing broad criteria and potential sites, and then selected Dingus for the project. (The recommended criteria included “multicultural,” “addressing occupants,” “sustainability,” and “unique.”) Dingus then met with the committee to discuss her preliminary concepts and, based on their feedback, returned with a finished proposal in late 2008. During fabrication, she worked with the college and architect for the renovation project to select the wall color that now serves as a backdrop for her artwork and a lighting plan.

looking out of EnviroHouse towards the Tacoma transfer station

“Where do you get the materials for your recycled art projects” is a question that Ruby Re-Usable and other trash artists are often asked.  The fortunate artists of San Francisco, California have an artist-in-residence program at the San Francisco  Solid Waste Transfer and Recycling Center (otherwise known as “the dump”), where they have 24 hour access to studio space and all the junk that would otherwise go to the landfills or recycling centers.

 interior view of the EnviroHouse

And while the artists of South Puget Sound don’t have art studios at the Tacoma Landfill (yet), we do have the EnviroHouse, a green-built model home that showcases recycled art along with green building and natural landscaping ideas.  The current exhibit features our friends Jenny Fillius, who works with tins to create assemblages, Leo Schmidt (lamps and clocks from bike parts), and Pierce Elaine Davis, a photographer that makes intriguing boxes.

 Pierce, Jenny and Leo with EnviroHouse director Janda Volkmer (in black)

See more pics from this show HERE, read more about past shows at the EnviroHouse HERE, and then go see this show now until April 25