After swimming with endangered sea turtles in Hawaii, and seeing the species struggle in my home state of Florida, I decided to create Gordon, the Endangered Sea Turtle as a mixed media artwork designed to raise awareness about the impact of trash on our oceans and marine life. Gordon’s shell is waxed paper painted with acrylics, alcohol inks, and glitter. His head, tail and fins are post-consumer latex gloves, and his stomach is made from packing paper. I’m hoping this piece will ask the viewer to consider their own participation in reducing consumerism, and recycling materials. Before buying something, ask yourself if you really need it. Before throwing something away, consider if it can be reused for something else, or at the very least, recycled. It’s my hope that Gordon will remind us to recycle and keep the oceans clean for generations to come.
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The state of our planet is both breathtaking and heartbreaking. Many beloved animals are under attack by our own comportment. I sculpted this baby elephant from post-consumer packing paper. She represents all the potential of new birth in the face of real challenge. The figure is unstable, bearing insurmountable weight on only three legs and stripped of its ivory tusks. We take what we want because we can. But does that mean we should? It’s been a long night for elephants, but if we work together, we could create a new dawn.
Post-consumer pieces of waxed paper, latex gloves and broken fairy-light wires bring this artwork to life as the butterfly boings around on its wired-spring, emerging from its latex glove cocoon nestled deep into rolled waxed-paper reeds, sprinkled with acrylic paint and alcohol ink. This piece shows the potential of creating something new by harnessing the power of something old. It’s my desire to showcase all the beauty and hope that nature encompasses, emphasizing its worthiness of our efforts to responsibly protect it. My dream is to live in a place where we mutually respect and value one another.
This little bird’s nest is made from pencil sharpener shavings. The rest of the pieces are cut, stamped, and inked paper on an acrylic background.