Olympia Dumpster Divers

Ruby Re-Usable and Landfill Bil Fleming hung out at the Seattle ReStore’s Recycled Art and Fashion Show closing party during Ballard’s May Art Walk this past Saturday night; you can see more pics from the show HERE and HERE

We do not know if Seattle P-I art critic Regina Hackett ever made it to Ballard to see the show, but she did post an addendum to her Earth Day salutes with an informative list of the Northwest artists whose aesthetic consciousness bring environmental issue to the forefront. Ruby Re-Usable is honored to be included in this Who’s Who of eco-artists; view the entire list HERE

Ruby Re-Usable kind of regrets that she just did not get it together to make an art cake for the 5th birthday bash at TAM this past Saturday, because it looked like fun. The Tacoma Art Museum was celebrating the 5th anniversary of its beautiful new building by inviting artists to create birthday cakes of the non-edible variety for a one-day display. Ruby did consider revamping her seven foot wedding cake leftover from her White Trash Wedding exhibit but the fake snow coconut frosting might have been against the TAM regulations (no confetti, and keep all materials contained…that fake snow leaves a trail everywhere…, plus it had to stand on a 24″ wide table, and this baby is 4 feet at its widest). She also thought about whipping out some sort of cute yet trashy cupcake, but was still too burnt out from Olympia Arts Walk to attempt to make more art for the public to admire without getting any remuneration for her effort.

Anyway, some folks did get it together, including mixed recycled media artist Jenny Fillius, who repurposed gelatin molds, pie tins, game tins, cookie and candy tins, holding it all together with pop rivets, to create this heavy metal cake. See more cake pics HERE and read more about this event HERE

This art inspired cake, inspired by Gustav Klimt, IS of the edible variety and is on display at Larsen’s Bakery in Seattle, Washington, USA, where Ms. Re-Usable enjoys the hot cross buns and other cardamon flavored treats whenever she is in the Loyal Heights neighborhood.

So, have your cake, and eat it, or not, whatever, enjoy, love, etc Ruby

It was Arts Walk in Oly this weekend:

There was art in the alleys and on the streets. There was art in the galleries and shops.

There was music everywhere and unique musical instruments, too; lots of unusual, handmade and upcycled stuff for sale.

Not everyone was wearing batik and tie dye or flannel; fashionable folks were strutting their stuff, showing off their recycled wares.

Olympia Salvage had it all: men in utility kilts (questionable fashion maybe but Ruby thinks guys in kilts are sexy) , fire dancers, visual art, music, and the power tool races with Hazard Factory from Seattle, whose motto is style first, fun second, safety third. Crazy good times, like a little bit of Burning Man in our own backyard, lets hope Oly Sal does it again next year.

There was also poetry, dance (we loved watching Susan Gresia and Jenny Macc and the rest of RADCo do their everyday housewife thing with such humor, energy and grace), and other kinds of performances (like David Scherer selling burnt toast and crushed cans — you had to be there), a parade, and a recycled fashion show by a bunch of high school students at the OFS Free Wall alley, but we were feeling overwhelmed by then and unfortunately missed this event.

You can see more pics HERE , a video HERE and read more about the Olympia Arts Walk HERE

Fresh stuff from Joshua Allen Harris (the artist who animates plastic bags by placing them over the NYC subway vents) posted on Wooster Collective HERE What Ruby Re-Usable can not find is any information on this artist; dearest readers, please help us out!

Since there are no official Earth Day events happening here in Olympia, WA, USA, Olympia Dumpster Divers will simply give a shout out to some of our favorite artists who do their recycled/upcycle/sustainable eco-art thing not just for Earth Day but all year long:

Regina Hackett beat Ruby Re-Usable to it when she posted an Earth Day Salute that included two of her heroes, Buster Simpson and Marita Dingus

Ruby would also like to include Ross Palmer Beecher and the late Meng Huang to that list of inspiring Pacific Northwest artists.

ODD Bil Fleming has constructed a large human powered kinetic sculpture from salvaged bike wheels, lumber, and plastic grocery bags. Entitled “What Goes Around, Comes Around,” it is the centerpiece of the Seattle Re-Store’s 6th Annual Recycled Art and Fashion Show at the New York Fashion Academy. Video of a similar but smaller project by Landfill Bil HERE

Speaking of the recycled art and fashion show, you can see more pics of the show HERE and HERE ; the Haute Trash Fashion Show this past Friday was, of course, TRASHTASTIC! There will be a closing party for the art show on Saturday, May 10, in conjunction with Ballard Art Walk.

The Bellingham Herald did a nice write up about one of the artists from this year’s ReStore show; read how Kuros Zahedi creates art from the trash he collects on the streets HERE

The Olympia spring Arts Walk is happening this Friday and Saturday, April 25 & 26, so ODD George the Junkileptic Kurzman, Steve “Second-hand Sid” Suski and Ruby Re-Usable aka Diane Kurzyna have art work at Olympia Salvage (George and Diane also have work in the ReStore show; more info about George HERE)

Check out Philadelphia Dumpster Diver Leo Sewell’s found object assemblage sculptures

St. Louis artists Wiktor Szostalo and Agnieszka Gradzik do The Tree Hugger Project: ongoing environmental art designed to help us re-discover our relationship with nature at a very personal and intimate level

and remember, love your Mother: Make Earth Day Every Day!

love, etc Ruby

Celebrate Earth Day and the Zero Waste Resolution!

When: Friday, April 18th, 7 to 10 PM
Where: New York Fashion Academy
5201 Ballard Ave.
Seattle, WA USA

Why: The event is dedicated to the recent passage of the Zero Waste Resolution Number: 30990. Zero Waste principles entail managing resources instead of waste; conserving natural resources through waste prevention and recycling; turning discarded resources into jobs and new products instead of trash; promoting products and materials that are durable and recyclable; and discouraging products and materials that can only become trash after their use.

What: This year marks the 6th Recycled Art and Fashion Show for the ReStore in Seattle, and Haute Trash is proud to have been there for every one. What began in 2002 as a 3-day group showing of select art made from found objects is now a month-long event that celebrates a diverse array of fantastic artists, including international environmental superstar Chris Jordan and that dumpster diving diva Diane Kurzyna aka Ruby Re-Usable. Last year’s festivities kicked off with a fashion show that played to a packed warehouse of extremely enthusiastic fans who literally spilled out into the streets. (Click HERE to see photos from last year’s show.) This year, both the art and fashion shows will be held at the spacious New York Fashion Academy. Robin Worley aka Rayona Visqueen will be on hand to emcee. Featured will be fashions from designers up and down the west coast. Hey, and don’t forget to drop in at the ReStore showroom at 1440 N.W. 52nd St. to pick up a Haute Trash collectable postcard!!

Four more ways to look at a plastic bag:

We first read about it on Wooster Collective , then Little Shiva posted it on The Visible Trash Society, and Leila did an in-depth follow up on Everyday Trash; now Ruby Re-Usable wants to remind you to check it out if you need a little FUN in your recycled street art: Joshua Allan Harris’ Air Bear and Air Zoo

At the Henry Gallery, Kader Attia: New Work, which includes plastic bags; read more in The Stranger HERE

Virginia Fleck’s plastic bag mandalas are as much a commentary on ecological awareness as they are a celebration and elevation of the ordinary objects of our everyday lives.

Alec Clayton at the Weekly Volcano reviewed the street art show at The Black Front Gallery; read what he had to say about Ruby Re-Usable’s life sized plastic bag sculptures HERE (and please note that the stencils he refers to are NOT by Adie Janci, but by Sine)

ps Eco Geek keeps us posted about Seattle’s plan to charge for plastic bags at grocery, drug and convenience stores HERE

Its April, and that means that Day de Dada is just around the corner. Celebrate on April 12 in Staten Island with Hey Viv, Ruben Sandwich, Lydia Grey, The Mighty Men of Dada, Mark Semanchik and more.

What is Dada?

Hey Viv Goes Green

Only 13 more days until Earth Day

In this installment of This Re-Usable Life, we go to Australia, where Ruby has never been in person, to discover how the folks down under do recycled art:

part one: what can you do with a can? Sir Reginald Junksworth III, aka JUNKY

part two: John Dahlsen, the darling of the international recycled art movement

part three: Evelyn Roth’s recycled and wearable art installations

part one: ODD has mentioned Junky before, but now that Wooster Collective spotted his recycled street art, we thought he deserved another shout out. Junky is an enigmatic street art avenger who creates creatures from the debris of society, then resurrects them onto wooden telegraph poles and other forgotten places around Australia. He uses cans and sometimes plastic bottles to make forlorn-looking neo-folk art with a punk rock attitude.

part two: John Dahlsen collects the flotsam and jetsam that washes up on beaches to do environmental art, recycled art, assemblage art, contemporary paintings, sculptures, installation and public art that has an abstract and conceptual quality to it. We find his totems made from flip flops particularly compelling, and are intrigued by his plastic bag installations. Dahlsen’s work legitimizes the use of recycled materials as high art while still retaining an earnest ecological message.

part three: Evelyn Roth’s work is where high fashion, high craft, high art and edutainment all meet to create performance art events that are spectacularly beautiful and fun! A Pacific Northwest expatriate, Roth’s Meeting Place/Spirit House dance/theater celebration makes me wish I had gone to Expo in 1986 to experience the spectacle of her inflatable, interactive sculpture. Her award-winning wearable art is wonderful, too. Evelyn turned me on to WOW (World of WearableArt, where art and the human form combine), which is held in New Zealand (not Australia, but close enough).

ps back in the Pacific Northwest, you can read about ODD George Kurzman’s Seattle recycled art show in April’s Art Access

Nek Chand - Creative rebel, recycling genius, or just your typical mosaic artist with a touch of OCD? Read more about one of Olympia Dumpster Divers all-time favorite sculptor/doll maker/visionary HERE

“Unmonumental: The Object in the 21st Century” is the first exhibition in the “Unmonumental” cycle, and explores the reinvention of sculptural assemblage. Using found, fragmented, and discarded materials, the works of the artists on view make a case for modesty, informality, and improvisation. More about this New Museum exhibit that we WISH we could have been in NYC to see HERE

Ruby Re-Usable is frantically finishing up new figures from repurposed plastic bags and reused bubble wrap from downtown Oly businesses for the opening of the Black Front Gallery tonight; check it out HERE