What is Garbage Anyway!?

So this, admittedly, is an experiment.  Photos of ‘garbage’, yes definitely an experiment.  I acknowledge that I am not the first person of any genera, artist, conservationist, writer, preservationist, naturalist; to take on the subject matter, or am I attempting, in all likelihood, to be the most effective.  However, despite both of these contingencies, offered mostly because, I am well, photographing garbage, very interested in the idea of what we consider trash.   There are actually some interesting questions here; how do we acknowledge or fail to acknowledge discarded objects, why do we discard things, why do we create things meant to be disposable and ultimately what if anything does all of this say about us. 

This photo record (which will be ongoing) is inspired by my current collaborative work with the Creative ReUse artists of the Rockford MakerSpace in Rockford, Illinois.  We have endeavored to create, for public display, an ‘art’ installation entirely from reusable materials, calling it aptly Garbage In / Art Out.  Last week, as I sorted, stacked and attempted to creatively arrange objects I began thinking about all of the ‘life’ these random things had experienced before they came to be piled up in our in-progress makerspace.   Pieces of this and that, Christmas ornaments, wire, chairs, toys, a variety of decorative items, lamps, bird cages; these things were once new and chosen, they elicited pride, perhaps excitement and were valued.

It is striking that we create so many objects for the purpose of their being discarded.  This was the thought that came upon me this morning as I walked the riverfront path in downtown Rockford.  I gradually realized that all of the things I was seeing lying on the ground, wrappers, cans, bottles, etc., had been made to be thrown away.  Those are the images included below, a recording of random things, dropped, left or otherwise discarded. These things became interesting because I chose to give them my attention, because I started looking at them differently, and that began to give them a new value.  

I suppose in a way most things are made to be discarded, we make most of our purchases with the understanding that eventually that thing will become obsolete for us; the cloths will lose fashion, we will lose interest in the game, the décor will no longer fit our taste.  It is interesting how value fades, or how it changes.  So is this the factor that determines when and if a thing is to become garbage; when the value is gone?

The even more interesting thing is that value can be made new, reassigned and reconsidered.  And so awaits the collection of dissimilar objects in our makerspace garage, and so awaits almost every object in your current proximity, at some point their value will shift, whether it is when you are done drinking that Coke in a can made to be tossed or when your favorite sweater no longer fits quite right.  This begs us ask two new questions; how do we choose to interact with objects and how do we choose to value them?  So really, what is garbage anyway?     

Fodder for Free Art

In my last post I asked "what is Fodder" and also offered an answer to that question.  In the past few months that question has taken on new life and new activity for me.  Fodder has manifest as this, what you will see in the images below.  Little collections of upcycled tidbits gathered together and offered out for Free Art Friday.  

Fodder has become more than the stuff by spurring the activity of sharing it.  I have shared Fodder in a handful of states and each week in my local area.  The Little Free Library drops have become my favorite, they embody the very nature of this project.  I love looking for the little libraries and the surprise of what else is inside.   

Shared Fodder is about more than sharing bits of materials; its more about sharing an invitation to creative exploration, a subsequent collaboration to my creative exploration of putting it together and dropping it off.  

Fodder is an invitation to explore and play, and invitation to suspend the expectations of art making and be art active.

What is Fodder?!

What is fodder?!

It is the stuff, the raw materials, the whatever you find that catches a spark, that makes you think.

Fodder:

1. 1 :  something fed to domestic animals; especially :  coarse food for cattle, horses, or sheep
2. 2 :  inferior or readily available material used to supply a heavy demand

So if you thought fodder was food (as I have been told) you are indeed correct.  But it is also used as this kind of fun word for stuff. And I suppose reusable and recyclable materials could easily be considered inferior and certainly readily available.

So why do I use the word fodder?  Because it's playful, because it reminds me that one of the things I love most about the stuff I collect is that it gets me thinking (and playing).  Because art materials can feel precious, but fodder is for the activity, the exploration, the discovery. Fodder is part of the process, not materials that need to be made into something great.  

Sometimes fodder is great on its own, sometimes it's ability to teach is greater that our ability to turn it into something else.  The new idea is greater than the new thing.

Fodder does not take itself too seriously, because without you it may just be garbage. And after all you can not take yourself too seriously when creating with ‘garbage.’

This is the beautiful place, the place with no pressure, the place that is all about process and discovery.

Without exploration how can we find the new great land of ideas or places or created things?  You must go on the journey.   The journey that will once in awhile rest or rejoice in the land of beautiful artwork, perfectly stitched garments, flawless words, design that transcends, and when you arrive there rest and rejoice, but continue on the journey.  And do not take the journey in anticipation of these blissful moments, but in each moment that will bring you to and from them.  

So this is fodder to me, the things that accompany me on the journey, the things that make me think, the things not so precious that encourage me to be not so afraid to try, things I can delight in and stumble with and occasionally throw away.  So jump in!  Into the garbage can of inspiration, of motivation, of new ideas and non-judgment and experimentation; the messy thought provoking stuff that we almost threw away that someone else did throw away.  Venture into the thrift store, your closet, the pile of whatever you have ignored for years and PLAY.  Nevermind creativity, art, making, finishing, achieving. 

Just go on the journey.

A Year of Reuse

Without naming it as such, I have been a creative reuse artist since college, always using thrifted and reclaimed materials.  I grew up in a creative reuse household, living with antiques and secondhand furniture and clothing both out of necessity and I believe my mother’s own ethic of value and creativity.  I am proud to say that in the seven years my husband and I have lived in our home we have furnished it almost entirely from secondhand sources and have not purchased new any major pieces of furniture.  

The one commodity that I have, until recently, been almost entirely dedicated to buying new was clothing. Perhaps in part because I grew up in so many hand-me-downs, I became as an adult almost unable to stand the idea of wearing someone else's garments. This does not however mean I paid a high price for what I purchased.  I have always been a chronic sale rack shopper a frequenter of places like Marshalls and TJ Maxx and I am even afraid to say no stranger to grabbing a shirt or sweater at Target when running in for ‘necessities.’  As a result, I have amassed a fairly random collection of clothing that often suffers from poor quality and henceforth I am always looking for new pieces to replace the style that’s not quite right and the piece that got a hole in the sleeve way too soon.  

It finally occurred to me that this kind of shopping was not satisfying and did not seem to jibe with the more sustainable ethic I have long been trying to cultivate in the rest of my life.  So in March of last year, 2015, I decided I would not purchase any new clothing for the rest of the year, thrifting and remaking only.  I made it to the beginning of August.  Not bad for a first attempt, but as the rest of the year carried on and I began to fall back into my old shopping habits I realized that I really wanted to make a significant change in this area of my life.    

So here I am again, as of January 1st 2016 pledging not to purchase any new clothing for an entire year.  Anything purchased must be from a secondhand source.  

I am enthusiastic about this project because I see it as a way of redesigning my relationship to clothing and consumer responsibility. And as a creative project.  I grew up in front of a sewing machine but there is plenty of skill I have yet to learn, this challenge will definitely offer that opportunity.  I am counting on Beth Huntington to help me, her great blog, The Renegade Seamstress and published book are fabulous resources on remaking thrifted and otherwise unwearable garments.

In addition to clothing I am also tagging on art and other creative materials, all must be purchased from secondhand sources.  This is to further challenge myself as a sustainably conscious artist, and in all truthfulness to force myself to use up much of the ‘junk’ I have been collecting for years.

In this space I will share my progress and projects, but keep in mind this is an experiment so I am not entirely sure what that will look like yet.  I don’t necessarily plan on posting regular tutorials on how to convert your husband’s old shirt into a smart pencil skirt, there are already some wonderful sources doing that.  What I envision more are ‘food for thought’ style posts and projects, a bit more about the process and maybe the great links I find when I do finally get around to cutting up those old shirts.

So please wish me luck and if you are so inspired share your own ideas, you can join me here and on instagram #ayearofreuse