Hundreds of college students are voluntarily sorting trash at the DNC. Very cool.
[This post will remain photoless as a protest to the handful of lame how-green-are-the-Dems-really? articles fluttering about the Internet, all with snoozy images. I mean, Plenty seem to be the only ones trying and their clip art has nothing to do with the environment.]
Ever heard of the Trashfinder’s Ball? Me neither. From what I can tell from this very local online article, it’s a party in Beverly, Mass., where people come in and present treasures found in the garbage to a panel of judges who then pick a winner and hand out prizes, all in the name of raising funds for the local bookmobile. Sounds amazing so far. From the looks of the photos on flikr, the fundraising part happens, at least in part, in the form of a raffle (which is great, beacause I have a knack for winning raffles. It’s a special talent I share with my sister). Also, some fashion-forward guests wear their trash (hello! Finally, a chance to contact the trashionistas and ask for help putting together a look the way an Oscar hopeful might call a couture designer).
Last year’s ball was such a hit the organizers are planning a second annual shindig and this time a local filmmaker will shoot it to complete a documentary already in the works. The movie will include interviews with prominent trashies as well as, presumably, local peeps talking about their dumpster diving finds, all pegged to the dramatic core of the ball itself. Let me know if you come accross any more info on this event. My new goal in life is to score an invite. You only think I’m kidding.
Photo of the judges found on flikr
My friend Lydia recently tipped me off to the work of artist Bryant Holsenbeck and was kind enough to put me in touch with the creative environmentalist for a little Q and A on the motivations behind her whimsical works creating bright and lively installations out of trash.
—
everydaytrash: Do you see your work as political?
Holsenbeck: Yes–I see my work as from the gut, personal, political. People do not want to see their trash. The quantity component of my work is very important. We just have so much (use it once or 20 times for that matter) stuff. Use it and then trow it “Away” Where is Away? In the US, most people are not concerned with this.
everydaytrash: I love the idea of wildlife made from trash, what brought about your Wildlife installation and what other birds and beasts have you created from discarded materials since?
Holsenbeck: Wild life–because we are taking up the space for wild animals. We like to see deer, but not in our gardens. What animals will be able to survive as we take over all of the wild and natural habitats. I feel very fortunate when I see birds soaring in the sky. Wild. Where do they live? As developers bulldoze and we stamp on all insects because they are “in our way” We are ruining our habitat as well. I am lucky to live in a neighbor hood where I see rabbits and chipmunks–and yesterday close to town–I saw a fawn running for the woods–white tail up. Our worlds are getting closer and closer–I hope we can live with wild animals–They do not have a voice. “WILD” is about watching for wild animals–being glad when I see them. Keeping my eyes open for what is there.
everydaytrash: Your bottlecap pieces are so intricate: how long do they take to create and what’s your process for collecting materials?
Photos ripped from the artist’s site.
I came to this little how-to post from Apartment Therapy via a Lifehacker link and thought it was pretty slick. I may just try it out. After inheriting a bunch of stuff from our grandmother, my sister and my apartment is looking put together but a little stuffy. Or, as the last boy I brought home put it, more like the home of a yuppy family or solitary old lady than of two twenty-somethings. I feel a few upcycled acccent pieces could mitigate that effect.
Photo via Apartment Therapy
Senior tipster Dumster Taoist sent me this amazing video in five parts today. It’s a TV documentary on Manila’s City of Garbage. Reserving commentary until I’ve had a chance to watch it in full.
[Forgive the post title. It was created late at night during a tedious search for trash news.] Keith R. over at The Temas Blog turned me on to these amazing telephone sheep. I guess I missed it when TreeHugger and others posted on these in June. Better late than never. These funky and adorable hunks of trash art are part of a Jean Luc Cornec installation at the Frankfurt Museum of Communications in Germany. These things are just plain amazing. For a more intellectualized analysis, check out this GreenUpgrader post.
Photo ripped from Flikr
I found this Dexter video on YouTube while rooting around for a Monday story. I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad thing that this is one of the first links to appear when one Googles “trash policy”. I’m going with cute.
After reading this sad story about a “garbage-conditioned” bear “destroyed” by police for getting caught breaking into someone’s house looking for yummy trash, I commenced an internet search for “bear aware” and found this amusing poetry contest. Entries had to be a haiku using the words “bear,” “garbage” and, improbably, “shorts”. Shorts kind of killed it for me, but whatever.
Photo via the Yellowstone Park News blog
Check out this post over at Olympia Dumpster Divers where the fabulous Ruby Reusable has collected some neat links on fancy trash bags migrating about NYC this summer.
The project, TRASH: Any color you like, uses 100% biodegradable bags naturally scented with peppermint and bugglegum to repel vermin. Reminds me of how my grandmother used to use stale Juicy Fruit to kill moles, but that’s a story for another day.
Everydaytrash received some TH blog love yesterday for hosting Carnival of the Green (thanks Tree Hugger!). This little shout out plus links back to the carnival boosted Web hits all week. Logical enough. Wanna know what else boosts web hits? Mentioning Robert Rauschenberg, Marcel DuChamp and interviewing Francophone North African trash art curators in Norway. Google searches for Rauchenberg and DuChamp bring in hits every day. In fact, the day Rauchenberg died everydaytrash.com reached an all time record in page views (Heath Leger’s death caused a spike as well as googlers seeking info on “Michelle Williams” clicked through to a post where I once mentioned that she lives in my hood). On a less morbid note, external links to the Trashtastic Tuesday Q & A featuring Samir M’kadmi feed a steady stream of readers my way. Which reminds me, I need to scan some images and post more on Jon Gundersen, a Norwegian found object artist I met in Oslo through M’kadmi.
Photo of pacifiers collected by GUndersen ripped from the Du Store Verden! site
In a serendipitous series of mouse clicks, I was listening to the song “Sugarman” by Scorcher [insert grime/trash joke] when I opened up a post on biodegradable packaging made from Sugarcane over at The Temas Blog. I interpreted this coincidence as a sign that I should post both links for you and turn you on to two great sites, in case you’re not already in the know: Last.fm for free music streaming and The Temas Blog, for all things trash in Latin America.
Photos ripped from Myspace and Temas respectively
I’ve come across and refrained from posting a lot of tired trash art/found object crap lately. These hot boots (from a recent show in Baltimore) were just the innovative little idea I needed to remind me why I love this shit. It’s fun. Full stop.
Many of my friends are in Mexico City right now for the International AIDS Conference. I’ve been a little jealous this week, picturing them all sipping fresh fruit margaritas and loading up on free condoms without me. I was looking forward to a few political pun buttons or a postcard, but then my friend Maxwell sent me the best souvenir ever: trash pics!
These are from El Bosque de Chapultepec, a park in Mexico City where Max noticed that all the trash cans in the park had “organicos” and “inorganicos” containers to separate organic and inorganic trash (though he notes not everyone uses them properly). Check out the trash truck, also equipped to separate organic and inorganic waste and the SUPERCOOL trash can made of plastic bottles. Sadly, Max adds: “I just read in the travel book I purchased before this trip that Mexico only recycles about 6% of it’s trash. So perhaps the park is a haven of reasonable trash policy.”
Welcome to Carnival of the Green, a roaming weekly digest of the best in eco-blogging. Last week Allie’s Green Answers hosted the madness; next week cruise on over to The Evangelical Ecologist.
This week in the green blogosphere:
Happy Reading!
—
Photo via MoneyWalks.com
A recent email from the Wooster Collective highlighted this lovely post from their archives on how to make a plastic-bag eating giraffe, authored by the fabulous Mark Jenkins. You know how I love street art, giraffes and creative ways to reuse plastic bags and promote their extinction!
everydaytrash 
