Olympia Dumpster Divers

July 4th at Museum of Glass

July 3rd, 2008

Avast there, matey! Ruby Re-Usable will be a special guest artist at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma on the 4th of July for a Tall Ships workshop: mini pirate flags out of sail cloth scraps. We’ll be making sea siren and mermaid motif flags, too, as well as ~~Dale Chihuly~~ pirate eye patches, arrrrrgh!!

Posted in museum of glass, Tacoma | No Comments »

Recycled Art: Candy Wrappers and Egg Carton

June 29th, 2008

Candy wrappers often become litter and are otherwise garbage to be discarded, but there are ways to even use these overlooked scraps to create fun recycled crafts:

Candy Wrapper Crafts features tips on making candy wrapper purses (via Art for Housewives) and so does The Purse Project

Shelly Hedges sews dresses out of empty sugar packets and Mary Jane candy wrappers. Read Eye Candy for more info

Since 2002, Ruby Re-Usable has been reusing the candy wrappers saved by her sons from bar mitzvahs, Hanukkah, Halloween, and any other time when candy happens. More HERE

Egg cartons are now recyclable in some communities; Ruby saves her cartons for Marita, who raises chickens and gives her extra eggs to friends. Some clever crafters have found new uses for egg cartons, like a recycled sewing kit on Recycled Craft Gossip and a tutorial on how to make an egg carton sewing basket via Whip Up

Enno de Kroon uses egg cartons as his canvas and calls it eggcubism. Egg carton arts and crafts for kids HERE

Posted in Uncategorized, recycled artists, crafts, recycled art, candy wrappers | 2 Comments »

Olympia Dumpster Diving

June 23rd, 2008

Since this is “Olympia Dumpster Divers” instead of “obsessive/compulsive pack rats making art out of junk, trendy upcyclers creating green crafts with idealistic intentions and other ~~cheapskates~~ thrifty folks finding inspiration in the free box,” every now and then we feel obligated to actually post about Olympia and dumpsters and those that wait until unwanted stuff is in the dumpster before retrieving it. Read about dumpster diving in Olympia via OlyBlog HERE then view pics of the Olympia Free Wall dumpsters HERE and HERE and finally, click on to these helpful dumpster diving hints written by some college students HERE

Ruby Re-Usable is not the only one blogging about trash — Marijke Rijsberman writes about how she accidentally fell in love with a landfill: “I have tried to explain (to myself and to others) what I find so compelling about garbage and garbage dumps …” Landfill Diaries

Posted in Uncategorized, Olympia WA, dumpster diving | No Comments »

Calls for Recycled Art, Events, Shows, Etc

June 17th, 2008

The EnviroHouse in Tacoma showcases artwork made from at least 95 percent salvaged materials; the 4th recycled content art display opens June 19 with an art reception at the Tacoma Transfer Station, 6 - 8 pm

The 20th annual Fremont Solstice Parade is happening June 21 at the Fremont Fair in Seattle, which also includes the Seattle Art Car Blowout Olympia Dumpster Divers always have an awesome time whenever they attend the parade and fair; read about Ruby at last year’s solstice event HERE and then see you in Fremont!

Hazard Factory double dog dares everyone to converge in Georgetown on Saturday, June 28 for the 2008 Seattle Power Tool Race and Derby (what a creative way to reuse those old chain saws and broken down skateboards you were about to give to Goodwill … )

Calls for art from recycled materials

RESURRECT: THE ART OF THE RECLAIMED OBJECT A national juried exhibition of all mediums, exploring art created from found objects, materials or items initially designed for another purpose but fashioned into works of art (submission deadline 4/6/09)

Wholly Rags hosts Arte de Descartes VIII juried recycled art show (submission deadline 8/8/08)

Posted in Uncategorized, Seattle, Tacoma, recycled art shows | No Comments »

Mandy Greer at Bellevue Art Museum

June 15th, 2008

Ruby Re-Usable recommends that you visit the Bellevue Arts Museum this summer to admire the work of Sherri Markovitz and Mandy Greer.

We were blown away by Mandy’s newest installation, Dare alla Luce, which involves lots of crazy crocheting to create an eerie Pacific Northwest rain forest-like environment with various shades of green yarn, beads, and other materials. We first saw Mandy Greer’s fabric covered deer heads with pom poms at the now-defunct Priceless Works Gallery, but since we don’t get up north very often and therefore did not see it at Bumbershoot nor CoCA, we were thrilled to finally view the white stag installation at BAM. Jen Graves at the Stranger praised the BAM show HERE and Regina Hackett complained about it HERE and Kamala Dolphin-Kingsley posted some pics from the BAM show HERE

The Sherri Markovitz exhibit on the third floor was not open yet when we visited on Mother’s Day, but we did get to see one of her poetic pieces at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma last month.

There is also the City of Bellevue Sculpted Green juried exhibit with contemporary sculptors who, through the materials they use, techniques they employ and/or message they seek to impart relate art to ecology, environmentalism, sustainability and similar green notions; more info HERE

Posted in Uncategorized, crafts, recycled sculpture, Bellevue WA | 5 Comments »

Ask an Olympia Dumpster Diver for illumination

June 9th, 2008

Question: Since you are the queen of recycled art, can you tell me what is the general-accepted definition of recycled materials? I have lots of reject copper pieces originally made for my lights that are sitting in a heap. They are unusable for my lights. If I use them in an art piece, could that be considered “recycled” art? Thanks, Bella Luz

Answer: The definition of “recycled” when it comes to recycled art varies … Ruby Re-Usable tends to be liberal when defining it, i.e, pre- and post- consumer waste, stuff that was unwanted, heading for the dumpster, etc. It does not have to be dirty, rusty, icky, picked out of the gutter or primitive-looking (not that there is anything wrong with that). I look for artists and art work that exude a spirit of recycled art through creative re-use.

Painting over an old canvas to create a new painting does not constitute recycled art, although it is an example of recycling. However, your reject copper pieces could be on the continuum of recycled art, depending on the final product and what else you have used. Also, your artist’s statement could sway the jury. But it sounds like what you are describing is recycling, not creating recycled art.

Most recycled art shows want to showcase art that is made from materials that have had a previous life and have little value and would be considered garbage or litter. Melting old, used gold jewelry to create new gold jewelry would not cut it in my book, but melting old, used aluminum cans, especially ones picked up off the street, to create something, would, even though aluminum cans are valuable and there is a healthy market for recycling them back into more aluminum cans (more info HERE).

Tree Hugger questions the use of aluminum cans in recycled art as a means to encourage recycling, but we here at Olympia Dumpster Divers believe making art from recycled materials, while not the ultimate solution to saving the world’s waste problems, is an important part of the reduce/reuse/recycle process.

I frown on items purchased new from the hardware or kitchen store that insinuate recycling (but the artists did not want to get their hands dirty or were too busy to actually take the time and effort to collect materials). Some jurors will not even accept items purchased at Goodwill or garage sales; they feel that the artists should have a personal relationship to the junk that they use. Making wallets and other stuff from duct tape, while amusing, is not recycling, unless one is using USED duct tape (never have seen examples of that). Making things from polar fleece yardage is not recycled art, even though polar fleece is a material made from recycled plastic bottles. However, making things from polar fleece scraps, especially industrial scraps that still have the pieces of pattern stuck to them, is recycled art/craft, as is making quilts from scraps. New bottle caps purchased at the beer-making supply store are not recycled materials; used bottle caps collected by bartenders or other means are recycled materials. The list goes on and on.

And there is also the question of the ART in recycled art … but that is another topic for another post!

love, etc Ruby ps read ODD’s recycled art statement HERE for more info

Posted in Uncategorized, recycled art | No Comments »

Plenty o’ Plastic Posts

June 6th, 2008

There is a diverse array of junk in the dumpsters, a myriad of recycled materials available to make art, yet Ruby Re-Usable keeps coming back to the plastic, especially the plastic bags. And she is not alone.

Check out MadSilence’s posts on The Art of the Plastic Bag and Plastic Bag Art: the sequel for some plastic bag facts and some fascinating plastic bag art, including Dan Steinhilber’s Plastic Bag Chandelier, Ruby Re-Usable’s plastic bag people, and Judith Selby Lang’s replica of Ryoan-ji Garden in Kyoto made entirely out of plastic bags and other recycled materials.

The Visible Trash Society has the YouTube link to Lang’s garden HERE

It’s kind of nice. Here plastic bags are the scourge of the highways and oceans, choking aquatic wildlife and making whole islands in the sea, and artists everywhere are turning them into a material of art. Plastic Bagalicious on the Green Museum blog.

Episode Three of Leave No Plastic Behind reality-based art exhibit opens June 12 in PDX (that’s Portland, Oregon, USA), where select artists try to live a plastic-free lifestyle for 3 months and make art out of the plastic that they do happen to use during that time period.

Our favorite piece in the London Zoo Recycled Sculpture Show is this polar bear and cub made with polystyrene, sheet, chicken mesh and plastic bags:

Posted in Uncategorized, recycled artists, plastic bag art, recycled sculpture | 3 Comments »

Someone told me its all happening at the Zoo

June 4th, 2008

The London Zoo is taking part in the Love London Festival, which includes the Recycled Sculpture Show; Ruby Re-Usable read about it on The Accidental EcoManiac.

Curated by Anthony Wilson, this show includes twenty talented sculptors that have utilized everyday waste materials to interpret issues of species conservation and protection of natural habitats, aiming to inspire us and to think again about our own individual impact on the Earth.

More from the UK: recycled Coke can sculptures created for Recycle Week (June 2 - 6, 2008) on Smart Planet HERE

Posted in Uncategorized, recycled sculpture, London | 1 Comment »

Memorial Day 2008

May 26th, 2008

In Flander’s Field
by John McCrae
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow,
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead.
Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved and now we lie,
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you, from failing hands, we throw,
The torch, be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us, who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow,
In Flanders Fields

VFW buddy poppy info HERE

Posted in Uncategorized, tape sculpture | 1 Comment »

This Re-Usable Life: NOLA

May 19th, 2008

In this episode of This Re-Usable Life, we go to New Orleans, where, Ruby Re-Usable is sorry to say, we have only been once, many years ago. So there are lots of things that Ruby is still learning about this soulful city, like the fact that NOLA stands for New Orleans, Louisiana (duh), and that the pelican is the state bird and that the fleur de lis is this ubiquitous symbol that is used for all things NOLA.

Many recycled artists of NOLA incorporate the Mardi Gras beads that are strewn about like litter into their recycled art, and voodoo images are abundant. Post Katrina, artisans also have been utilizing the blue FEMA tarps and other materials salvaged from the destruction to create a wide array of accessories with a DIY aesthetic.

Top of the DIY list is, of course, Miss Malaprop, the indie craft enthusiast who has made it her mission to shine the spotlight on unique and independently made products and small businesses, telling the world what’s really going on in New Orleans/the Mississippi Gulf Coast while documenting her approach to living a more environmentally sustainable and socially responsible lifestyle.

Recycling artists Mark Kirk and Heather MacFarlane are the darling duo who do Unique Products, making colorful lamps from plastic laundry detergent bottles as well as from the aforementioned discarded Mardi Gras beads, clocks made from tins and trays, FEMA tarp messenger bags, and other only-in-NOLA stuff.

Nola Salvage and her partner Bayou Salvage create a variety of very NOLA-themed stuff, like “fleur debris” and shotgun house wall hangings, pendants, and southern Gothic clothing and accessories. Bayou, who says “Never underestimate the power of debris to change your life,” also blogs about her thrift store and junk picking ways on Thrifting in Oblivion (where she lists “what NOT to buy at the thrift store” and other helpful hints) and posts pics of her recycled art work on flickr at RustChic.

The Second Line is a timeless New Orleans tradition – the colorful parade that follows a funeral procession to turn tragedy into a celebration of rebirth. Second Line Frames are built from authentic wood siding salvaged from homes destroyed during hurricane Katrina. It’s their way of preserving a little part of the beloved memory of old New Orleans while helping to rebuild it toward a better tomorrow. A portion of each sale goes to assist in the rehabilitation of affected neighborhoods.

Art by Mags is the recycled art and DIY blog of “art-n-craftivist” Margaret Coble, a multi-talented magazine editor, organizer, designer, roller derby dame, and, well, you will just have to check out her sites to get the full picture of her NOLA-infused art work. We especially like her fleur de lis skull designs and her mixed recycled media assemblages.

Finally, we visit Skeleton Crewe, who reuses old paint can lids and roadkill soda cans as a canvas for his skull paintings; old newspapers get turned into paper mache skull masks for Mardi Gras and other special occasions. He also takes pics of NOLA buildings, people, and graffiti, documenting the architecture as well as the culture that makes New Orleans the most unique city in America.

Posted in Uncategorized, recycled artists, New Orleans | 4 Comments »

Olympia Dumpster Divers

July 4th at Museum of Glass

Recycled Art: Candy Wrappers and Egg Carton

Olympia Dumpster Diving

Calls for Recycled Art, Events, Shows, Etc

Mandy Greer at Bellevue Art Museum

Ask an Olympia Dumpster Diver for illumination

Plenty o’ Plastic Posts

Someone told me its all happening at the Zoo

Memorial Day 2008

This Re-Usable Life: NOLA

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