Second-hand Sid and Ruby Re-Usable drove up to Tacoma last month for the opening of the Washington State History Museum’s exhibit Make/Do: A History of Creative Reuse.  Some of our favorite Washington State artists who work with recycled materials have their art on display (while others were conspiciously missing …), plus some amazing folk art pieces by unknown artists, including this compelling piece (which was difficult to get a good photo of because of the plexi display box causing weird reflection in this pic, sorry about that):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Union Flag immediately brought to mind the flags that the amazing Ross Palmer Beecher creates; both artists use specific recycled materials to convey multi-layered messages.  Unfortunately, there weren’t any flags by Ross included in this show; fortunately, two of her quilts made from recycled metal are on display.  I took 2 photos of her in front of her log cabin quilt made from license plates — one without flash, one with flash — and was surprised at how the flash impacted the piece in such a dramatic way:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

more Ross Palmer Beecher quilts and flags HERE  and HERE

 

Another one of our most-admired artists who work with recycled materials is our friend Marita Dingus, who has a few baskets made from metal and fabric in this show; what the curator’s criteria for choosing these pieces from Marita’s immense and intense oeuvre remains a mystery, but she was pleased to at least be included in this exhibit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Protector Mask was another piece at the WSHM that we were very intrigued by but then discovered it was actually part of the WSHM’s Annual Contemporary Native Arts exhibition.  Made from recycled plastic detergent & plastic milk containers, plus googly eyes, the artist, Linley B.Logan, who is Onondowaga (Seneca), was inspired by his wife’s Tlingit cultural war masks.

 

 

 

 

 

There is a lot to see in this exhibit — read what Molly Gilmore/The 0lympian wrote about it (who, like you, wonders why Ms Re-Usable was not invited to participate — another curating mystery …): Everything Old is New Again, and then check out more pics from Make/Do HERE and HERE; additional reading HERE and HERE and HERE.