Super Eco

Photo credit: ms.lume on flickr

Having been raised by a mother who saved everything and liked to make something from nothing, it is no surprise that as an artist, collage was my first medium.

I am not alone in my romance with the disposable, a great tidal wave of trash is rising up to be conquered by the endlessly headed Hydra of Art; a fearsome and beautiful monster--daughter of the goddess Gaia--devouring and digesting garbage and spitting it out as art, reformed and terrible in its beauty. This art makes a statement about the time in which we live, it is the totem of the day. We can join in and begin to fill our walls--not land fills--with re purposed beauty.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Keep a journal of feelings and ideas to recycle into your art. Inspiration is everything and can hit you at any moment. I always carry a notepad and pencil for ideas on the run. I also carry a bag or two for interesting discarded bits that I find.
2. Look around you and begin to choose the media you would like to work in. I make collage with torn paper, fabric and found bits which I have saved.
3. Begin to collect, organize and catalog your elements so that you have easy access to them. I save broken bits and found objects in containers--cereal boxes and to-go containers are great--usually sorted by color or texture. Label them so that you can have easy access to them.
4. Make time for art as you would any other appointment, don't wait until you have it all worked out in your mind to begin. Art is hungry to be born; if you set the table and begin to serve the meal, inspiration in some form will attend.
5. Visit galleries and meet other artists interested in environmental art. This gathering wave is gaining momentum around the world, this practice of extracting and reviving the soul of used things.
6. Share your ideas generously, this inspires others as well as nourishes you.

The Environmental art movement provides more proof that it really is within our power to make some kind difference--no matter how small--that this life can really be a prayer; in which we walk more lightly, use a little less, save a little more, try to do no harm and sometimes; make art instead of garbage.