It was 1977 and I was in original Fluxus member Geoffrey Hendrick’s Art in the Environment class at Rutgers with Ellen (Hey Viv) Vassar and Anne Paashaus when we created this 8′ x 8′ weaving out of anything but wool. In reaction to the earthtone colors so popular back then, we used unnatural colors and materials, including polyester scraps of fabric found in black plastic garbage bags on the streets of the Garment Distric in NYC (we used the garbage bag, too), 35 mm film negatives, guitar strings, and anything else we found.

We won a $100 first prize for professional crafts at the West Hudson Arts Festival at Riverbank Park in Kearny, NJ that summer. Then we squabbled over what to do with the weaving: burn it (Ellen), bury it (Anne), recycle it (Ruby). Fact is, we disagreed on lots of things; we argued while we worked on the weaving. Ellen/Viv remains a practicing DADA-ist; Anne became a Moonie and we haven’t heard from her since; and me, well, I am still a righteous recycler.