Weekends On The Shore

Well, we just finished a great June, every weekend at the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar and I am telling you, I am going to miss it!  The quiet drive from the desert to the shore and then the interaction of all kinds to meet and teach about recycling and the S.C.R.A.P. Gallery.  It was fun, exhilarating and of course, the sea breeze didn't hurt either.  Lots of interaction with kids playing our new game called, the Earth Equation game, was kind of a test drive to see if things clicked?  And they did!  Here are some photos from Del Mar.  Now, not exactly back to the beach, but at least there is sand!

Fun In The Gallery

So far this summer, we have been all over the place, from Mecca to Imperial Beach, and all the California sand in between!  It is nice to get back to the Gallery and re-group, so here are some photos of what has been going on inside the S.C.R.A.P. Gallery! 

The End Is Near

So it is Sunday, February 26th, the final day of the Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival, I am a little tired after ten days straight, so here goes.

As we are located on the fairgrounds, thousands of people have gone through the S.C.R.A.P. Gallery and asked us questions about recycling, how did we do this or that and even, how much does that bale of tin weigh (part of our exhibit)? For those of you who are interested, it weighs approximately 1700 pounds.

If you did not get a chance to drop by, I just wanted to again share with you some of the amazing art work created by students for our Earthworks Recycle Competition. Students from high school and all the way down to Kindergarten participated. They all did a great job using their imagination, creativity and ingenuity. So please take a look and enjoy.

Happy New Year!

Kudos to kids for kicking off the new year by recycling! Yes, in only the first week, after weeks of no school, holiday bliss, the Rancho Mirage Library hosted the S.C.R.A.P. Gallery for it's first Family Night and what better way to celebrate then a PB & J Party? Well, not the traditional PB & J that so many Americans are used to - this was different. Plastics, boxes and jellyfish were featured at this event. A collection of reused items, recycleable materials and elements were configured into the diaphanous wonders of the deep - jellyfish!

Causes Sponsorship ~ S.C.R.A.P. Gallery (Student Creative Recycle Art Program) ~ SponsorPark.com

Causes Sponsorship ~ S.C.R.A.P. Gallery (Student Creative Recycle Art Program) ~ SponsorPark.com

Telling Stories In Our World

I love when art meets trash, well you may call it trash, I will call it one of my favorite Italian words, scarti. Anyway, a convergence of castoffs and "collectibles" including cardboard lunch containers from a local school, gator board scraps and an assortment of 9" x12" art masters prints were mixed up by kids at the Mecca Public Library. Throw in some of last year's Christmas cards and yarn fragments, and they were well on their way to the rebirth and reuse of scrap.

As part of the library's summer reading program, I was invited to participate in their One World, Many Stories theme. The kids, of all ages, were encouraged to cut, rip and glue to create a collage that told a story. Take a look at their stories!

Living On The Edge For Earth Day

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in 2008, the United States buried or burned more than 166 million tons of resources. Those would be paper, plastice, metal, glass and organic materials. We only recycled or composted about one-third of our discards. That is why at the S.C.R.A.P. Gallery we practice the Four R's - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Responsibility every single day. We also believe that Earth Day is every single day, but on Friday, April 22, the nation's official Earth Day, we go all out and celebrate it! S.C.R.A.P. Gallery and CoachellaValleyGreen.com will hold its second Earth On Edge II at the Green Zone in Palm Desert, California. Earth On Edge II will kick off at 6 p.m. with a SCRAPPY Hour Reception, silent art auction and the premiere of BUGGED!, our insects as art exhibition. All the "bugs" have been created using recycled and found materials. Following the reception will be the soft opening of the Green Earth Film Festival showing of Carbon Nation, a documentary about climate change solutions "that doesn't care if you believe in climate change." The event is free, but donations will be thankfully accepted to benefit S.C.R.A.P. Gallery's programs for kids and the environment. For more information about Earth On Edge II, contact us at info@scrapgallery.org.

How Can You Spin Your Wheels?

Give me your tired and worn, your crumpled and torn. Yes, that is what we ask for at the S.C.R.A.P. Gallery. Let's reuse and recycle as much as we can.

As April approaches, this is the time that we get ready for our annual exhibition called Recycle Bicycles. Recycle Bicycles is an opportunity for all of us to call upon our inner or outer artist and create. Old bikes, not gently used, bikes that can no longer serve as a mode of transportation are turned into great works of art! If you have a once-functional bike that you would like to donate or recreate, please contact us. The first batch of 2011 sculptures will be exhibited at the Indian Wells Arts Festival, April 1-3 and then travel throughout the Coachella Valley at various locations. So start your creative engines and get your wheels spinning!

Falling Down - The Chicago Series

I just returned from a week in Chicago. The Windy City never lets me down as a source of ideas and inspiration for green projects and art at the S.C.R.A.P. Gallery.

Our upcoming show at the S.C.R.A.P. Gallery called Falling Down, opening on November 13, encourages artists to create work with found pieces or things that have made it to the ground floor. Now Chicago is a pretty and mostly clean metropolis, but right now it is swirling with autumnal colors and you guessed it, things falling down from the trees and shrubs. So in between shopping and museum-hopping, I would run and collect leaves and twigs off the ground. I couldn't help myself.

So here is the start of what I like to call my Falling Down - Chicago Series. I can't wait to see what our other participants, all California artists, come up with. Who knows what they have picked up?

Please drop by the Falling Down opening reception on November 13, 7 p.m. at the S.C.R.A.P. Gallery, 46350 Arabia Street, Indio, CA.

Mixing Things Up

Like life, art is always a work in progress. Looking at things in new ways is something I strive to do. And when you are fortunate to have a treasure trove of materials like I do at the S.C.R.A.P. Gallery, it makes this a lot easier. Again, special thanks to all who share my passion for recycling and reuse.

Anyway, over the weekend, some elements emerged and converged to start me on a new piece -- Victorian silver, French Impressionism and good ole' American commercialism. As I said, this too is a work in progress like life full of drama and comedy. I like to mix things up!

Global Art Party Gets Going

Today we met with our friends at Coachella Valley Green to plan an event for global change. Scientists say that 350 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere is the safe limit for humanity. According to scientists, if we can't get below that, the damage we are already seeing from global warming will continue and accelerate. Yes, this is true, the evidence comes from, as my friend Thom Gottberg says, rocket scientists!

So on October 10 we will join with people around the world to take action and make a statement. Join us at the Green Zone in Palm Desert for our Global 350 Art Party from 3 to 6 p.m. We will practice the Four Rs - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Responsibility in the most creative and productive way!

STUDIO SCARTO Is Born

Yes, that is Venus rising from a recycling bin! Where? You can find Venus at the S.C.R.A.P. Gallery's newest satellite location, STUDIO SCARTO.

STUDIO SCARTO is a place where you can make, take and create art from recycled materials. Scarto is an Italian word meaning rejects and we take our inspiration from that! Located at the Fiesta Mall in Indio, California, the STUDIO SCARTO is open to the public on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Explore our Recycle Bicycle exhibit and an array of art -- all from things having a rebirth, so to speak.

Flipping Out

I love flips!

I can't help myself - these plastic flip offs used for medicine tops are colorful and reusable. Artists around the world are using them too! In fact, I am thinking of dedicating a whole new book to the art of flips! This is just one of my latest creations completed at the S.C.R.A.P. Gallery. Stay tuned for more!

Earth On Edge

Thursday, April 22, 2010 is the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day! That student-inspired, university scene event has not only grown up, it's gone global! And thank goodness it has because global action and global awareness is just what the Earth needs!

At the S.C.R.A.P. Gallery, we continue to be creative in our approach to art and the environment and in doing so, we are happy to announce an event called Earth On Edge, a fundraiser supporting our programs for kids and the environment. We are talking global!

More than twenty California artists will exhibit their work and donate work for a silent auction. There will also be a special poster exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution. Please feel free to stop by the Green Zone, our host and sponsor, on April 22 from 5-8. The Green Zone is located at 75181 Mediterranean Avenue in Palm Desert.

S.C.R.A.P. Gallery At The Green Zone

The S.C.R.A.P. Gallery was commissioned by the Green Zone in Palm Desert, California to provide art work for the new building and open house. The Green Zone is the first commercial property in the Coachella Valley to be renovated and leased exclusively to businesses focused on sustainability and the new green economy. The Green Zone currently is home to five green-thinking businesses including Smart Glass (http://www.smartglassca.com/) and Prints Charming sustainable printing (http://www.printscharming.info/).

Take a look at what the Gallery created by recycling and reusing! We have lots of ideas and we can help you recycle and reuse creatively, so contact the S.C.R.A.P. Gallery today!!

GOOD COB, BAD COB

The S.C.R.A.P. Gallery's latest environmental installation featured in the Coachella Valley Arts building in Indio, California is all about corn!The story of corn is an all-Americas story with far-reaching results—bringing a food source from the New World to the rest of the globe. Corn is believed to have originated through the natural crossings of gamagrass and teosinthe in Mexico. Archeologists have discovered evidence of corn 200 feet below Mexico City and date the corn to be approximately 80,000 years old. Through the domestication of corn, humans have been able to feed, cloth and flourish. Whole societies and cultures have been built upon the successful harvesting of corn. It is still true today.

In GOOD COB, BAD COB we explore the challenges of this golden crop and the environmental role that it plays.

This exhibit also celebrates the artistic virtues of corn and how it has inspired us to look at the grain, the ears, the husk, the stalk and the silk in many different ways. All the art work in GOOD COB, BAD COB has been created using reused and/or recycle materials. Corn cobs have been reinvented using old records, reused canvases explore the language of corn and actual products made from corn from the Nebraska Corn Board are displayed.

Reconsider Everything

Things are happening in downtown Indio! For the last three months, I have been working on new S.C.R.A.P. Gallery works featuring, you got it, discards, scraps, bits and trash! On October 10th on Miles Avenue, please come experience what can be created when things are reconsidered!

Getting To The Heart Of The Matter

The beginning of a new work for the S.C.R.A.P. Gallery that will be unveiled on October 10th for a festival in downtown Indio. This piece is entitled, "Heart of Civilization." There will be a complete transformation from what you see now!

Recycle Roadtrip

I have been on the road throughout California collecting trash of all sorts for a new book about recycling and reusing. I have been sifting through sand, soil and sea!

Temecula Balloon & Wine Festival

We had a great time this past weekend in Temecula sharing our recycling message with kids, parents and balloon and wine enthusiasts! In addition to hands-on activities, kids were able to get S.C.R.A.P. Gallery reusable bags, bookmarks and their very own Globediggers Card which asks them to take the pledge for the good of the environment.