Spreading art, not fear.
In 2009, I started a blog called Beyond Garbage that explored ways to reuse common materials that we often throw away or recycle. At first, a small group of like-minded artists played with materials and posted images of what we made. It was only mildly successful since we were all very busy. But we had fun and that exercise jumpstarted what is now a major focus of my work and the inspiration for this site.
Through the years I added occasional posts about artists and exhibitions with work related to that theme. In 2015, I have myself a challenge to make a thing a day with the goal of trying to focus on reusing materials. I lasted about a month. It was fun, but kind of exhausting. I encourage any of you to try it. I learned so much about my work habits, attention span, and need for flexibility. That project is also documented on the site as 2015 Thing-A-Day Challenge.
When I started this site, I had the intention to blog more often. But hey, I am learning to accept that my attention ebbs and flows, mostly depending on urgency. I am sure I am not alone in this.
Well, urgency just hit again. As of last week [this was written in mid-March], the spread of the coronavirus known as COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic and many countries around the world are implementing practices of social distancing to avoid the spread of this new and daunting infection. Schools and businesses are closing, we hope only temporarily. This could be over in a few weeks, or drag on for months. It’s really hard to tell right now.
My go-to response in times like this is to find focus and escape by creating and exploring with my brain and my hands. And since I am mostly an extrovert, I like to share and my first inclination is to figure out a way to connect. So, here I am again, trying to get other people excited about reusing and recycling materials, not only by seeing what I make, but by making things themselves. Learning about the material world around them. Paying attention to things over which we might have some control over in a world that feels, right now, pretty out of whack.
The Project
I will be proposing a material approximately once each week (maybe more often, maybe less - who knows?) - common materials that most people are likely to have lying around (maybe accumulating faster than usual as many of us work from home). Participants are encouraged to play with the material and give feedback - images of work in progress, finished work, images you find of other people’s art (properly attributed) that uses that material, etc. I will supply some guidance about the materials, some suggestions for how to use it, some vocabulary words that relate to the material (especially for people who are hoping to use the project as an adjunct to homeschooling their kids), and some images of work that might provide inspiration.
I hope that this will give people an easy entry into making and creating a contemplative space as we restructure our lives. I hope it will also be a good diversion to think about our place in the world as a whole and how we can make it better, more beautiful, and less full of waste.
I also hope that, with Earth Day coming on April 22, we can collectively work toward a goal that can contribute to that celebration of the planet we inhabit. It may just be that our output from these exercises adds to the global consciousness. But perhaps there is energy for something more. I am open to any ideas about that.
Sharing
I have started a new Instagram account - @beyondgarbageproject - and encourage people who participate to tag it when they post so we can all see what we are making. I am still figuring out whether/how to post to this site and the Beyond Garbage site - is that really necessary in these times of social media?
Using the hashtag #beyondgarbageproject will also help people follow our work. And I have started using the hashtag #spreadartnotfear in a wider context to encourage people to think about helping create positive connection when so many of us are isolated from each another.