Olympia Dumpster Divers

Wonderbra by Diane Kurzyna aka Ruby Re-Usable

Our ODD recycled art correspondent in Shelton, Barbara De Pirro, got a shout out in the Wall Street Journal in an article about castoff materials being refashioned into trash fashion during this global slump in the recycling market; read One Woman’s Trash Is Another Woman’s … Lingerie?

And then submit a work of recycled fashion art to the 2009 Seattle/Bellingham Haute Trash Fashion Show by no later than March 24, 2009.  More info/entry form HERE

Basket of Light by Ruby R-U, aka Diane Kurzyna, made from discarded X-mas tree lights and telephone wire for “Weaving Washington,” 1998

The Festival of Lights is over, the days are growing longer, and the holiday lights are being packed up.  Some folks are switching to LEDs, but that doesn’t mean the old lights should be tossed away.  The Olympian has suggestions as to what to do with your unwanted strings of lights HERE

Hillary Newman at the Huffington Post blogged about Heath Nash of South Africa, who reuses recycled plastic bottles to produce creative light fixtures: Recycled Light Has Never Been So Beautiful

Back in the USA, Seattle artist Russ Morgan upcycles glass bottles, punch cups, sea glass, and other glass shards, along with thrift store metal stuff, to create gorgeous chandeliers (Ruby is thrilled to now own one)

Olympia Dumpster Divers Bil Fleming and Pat Tassoni make amazing lamps out of the junk most people throw away

Hope you have been re-illuminated about the possibilities of recycled art in 2008; here’s to a Happy Re-New Year!  love, etc Ruby Re-Usable

Bonnie Tarses‘ mom displaying recycled yarn from un-knitting old cashmere sweaters

Download Deborah Lawrence’s paper version of her X-mas ball HERE

Ruby Re-Usable presented a special 3 part workshop at The Evergreen State College for the Imagining the Body program, where she worked with over 80 TESC students and their 4 professors to create Identity Dolls from Detritus.  These dolls are now on display at The Evergreen State College Library until the end of winter quarter.

Ruby Re-Usable loves recycled art and she loves dolls, so finding a flickr group dedicated to Recycled Art Dolls was a dream come true; check it out HERE

Swiss Miss by M.A Enriquez aka urbanwoodswalker

While we were in Seattle the other week, we caught up with Kim Groff-Harrington and made plans for a recycled art doll trade.  We also have promised to trade with Jessica Geiger for one of her amazing and sometimes disturbing dolls.

Kim Groff-Harrington with her recycled bottle cap and tin art doll

Another reminder that Marita Dingus’ recycled art dolls are awesome!  And here is an interesting educational doll link sent to us from Laura Sharp Wilson: We Are All the Same Inside 

Our idol Marita Dingus does it again: Bending Life, her current solo show at Francine Seders Gallery in Seattle, is a testament to how ordinary materials become extraordinary when the artist is fearless and fierce.  This particular installation feels more joyful than past shows, with lots of color and sparkle and sweetness dancing on the walls and hanging from the ceiling.  Ruby Re-Usable was particularly delighted to see how those pink spirally thingies that she had passed on to Marita were incorporated into eye-catching wall hangings.  We also marveled at the materials Marita reuses — everyone does something with corks, but she also utilizes the wire champagne cork protectors, as well as the metal remains of burnt-out light bulbs, fabric scraps, and aluminum pop top tabs, along with glass, which is a media that is seldom seen mixed with such exuberance.

More pics HERE

A few years ago, Olympia artist Nikki McClure was invited to do a bird-themed Christmas ornament for the White House.  My first thought was “how do I get considered for this art honor” (hey, I am an artist, it is all about me, baby, did you think I was going to say “good for her?!”), along with “eewww, make an X-mas ornament for Bush?” and “hmm, how often do visual artists get recognized at the White House and how can I get on that invite list?”  Now that President-elect Obama will be there, I really really want to be asked to create an ornament for the White House tree.  Maybe there will be a “green” theme, or even just a good old recycled art theme, in which case, Ruby Re-Usable would be golden, right?!

Anyways, while I was mulling about how I would make an appropriate environmental statement while slipping in a sly reference to Hanukkah with my future X-mas ornament, Seattle recycled artist Deborah Lawrence made a political statement with her red, white and blue-themed ornament.  You can read all about the controversy that it has stirred up HERE and HERE and HERE

Reading some of the vitriolic comments, one would think that Dee Dee drew an insulting cartoon depiction of Mohamed, rather than doing what she always does, which is to create visual art with a strong and heartfelt message.

In fact, King County Art Commission’s Heather Dwyer stated that she chose Lawrence because she wasn’t looking for somebody who would blandly decorate an ornament. She was thinking about artists, not illustrators. “I suggested her because of her social engagement — feminism, anti-war, anti-poverty — and knew she’d think of it as an opportunity.”  In other words, Art Isn’t Nice

Meanwhile, Bremerton’s Amy Burnett has an ornament still hanging on the White House tree.  How nice.

pic borrowed from Art by Heather

Ruby Re-Usable once visited Dick and Jane’s Spot in Ellensburg, WA, but never actually met Dick and Jane.  She had heard and read a lot about them, had seen Richard “Dick” Elliott’s work in Seattle, and always figured that she would visit Ellensburg again and this time get to meet the artists who created this fun and funky recycled folk art-inspired abode.  But we are sad to say that Richard C. Elliott passed away on November 19; read obits HERE  and HERE

While rummaging around the interwebs, Olympia Dumpster Divers discovered a new blog about recycled art: simply titled Recycled Art, this one was created “to promote the creative use of materials that normally would have been put in landfill.”

One of our favorite blogs is everydaytrash, which has been posting about art from recycled materials, as well as other garbage issues, for over two years now. See all of Leila Darabi’s trash art posts HERE

And be sure to peruse our side bar for more art of recycling sites, then send us your recycled art suggestions, questions, and comments.  Make Art Not Waste, love, etc Ruby

Don’t just trash those old campaign signs, reuse them!  Urban Prankster turned Olympia Dumpster Divers on to this:

Every November Ruby Re-Usable wishes she were in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for the Recycle Santa Fe Festival

For the last few years she has not even been able to make it south to Portland for the Junk to Funk Fashion Show

Ruby and Second-hand Sid did get it together to go see Michael Lindenmeyer’s junk art assemblages at the South Puget Sound Community College gallery.  Well-crafted, playful and ironic, interesting use of junk (still can not get over the use of road-kill tire shreds); read The Volcano’s review HERE

And Ruby will be at Francine Seders Gallery in Seattle for the opening of our friend Marita Dingus‘ recycled art show, Bending Life, on Sunday afternoon, December 7.