Winter Window Installation

Hello!

I am super-excited to be completing a window installation for a local gallery for its holiday craft sale.  The windows are quite large but my idea can handle it :).  Stay tuned for updates on my project.

Stop by soon!

Marsha

A Gallery of Plastic Bags, Just in Time for Halloween

Hello again,

I've collected a number of spooky black plastic bags lately.  I love these particular bags because they put me in a very Halloween-y mood.

Of course, I understand that not everybody sees the artistic possibilities of a plastic bag the way I do.  But I'm glad you took a look.  Stop back soon to see what I'm creating with these SPOOKY bags!

Happy Halloween!

Marsha

Experimenting with Natural Dyes

Hello Readers!

For some time now, I've wanted to dig in and experiment with plant-based dyes.  We have had beautiful marigolds blooming in our backyard all summer long.  They are still extraordinary, and I wanted to capture the orange hue of the blossoms and make it last.   So, here we GO!

I submerged a bunch of marigold blossoms (about 20) in water and boiled them for about 10 minutes: 

I strained the liquid and added one tablespoon of vinegar (to set the color):

Look at this gorgeous orange color!

Now, time to gather supplies to try some dying.  I used a piece of white cheesecloth:

Pour, dip, squeeze:

Time to stretch and hang:

 I'm just as pleased as punch with this project!

Now that I've tried marigolds, I'm interested in experimenting with some other plants, like spinach, beets, blackberries....maybe even some orange peels.

Thanks for stopping by!  Let me know what you think!

Happily, I am ~

Marsha Makes

Welcome Fall 2017!

Hello Dear Readers,

Fall in New England seems to be getting off to a slow start.  Temperatures have been unseasonably warm, and the foliage has been mostly dull.  Still, we are slowly getting into the spirit of things - I do see an occasional golden yellow or orange leaf on my morning walks.  And just yesterday, I picked up a few pumpkins and mums for a bit of home decorating.

Outside, our chickens have been the beneficiaries of my craftiness.  I've been working on a small (4 feet) garland, made with cotton thread, wooden beads and 1-inch hand-cut squares of wool felted sweater material.

This is a very fun and super-addicting project.  I start by collecting wool sweaters from local thrift stores (my favorite kind of shopping!).  Then I cut the sweaters apart and felt the pieces by immersing them in the clothes washer with high water temperatures and low water levels to initiate the felting process.

Once the sweater pieces are felted and dried, I cut them into squares with a rotary cutter on a self-healing mat.  Finally, I string the pieces on a doubled length of cotton thread, varying colors and bead shapes for variety.

Here are some close-up views:

And here I am, making some final touches:

It looks good, right?!  I think the chickens approve:

Thanks for checking out my blog.  Have a wonderful day!

Marsha

Re-imagining Plastic, In the News

Hello!

Recently, I was contacted by a local newspaper editor about my current work.  Pem McNerney, Living Editor, Shore Publishing, said she had seen some of my artwork at a recent gallery opening and wanted to talk to me since she was doing a news story related to ocean trash.  We talked by phone, and let me tell you, it was a thrill to have the opportunity to talk about my art!

Here is an excerpt of the article, published in the August 9, 2017 edition of the Guilford Courier, a publication of Shore Publishing in Madison, CT:

Turning Trash Into Treasure

A few years ago, Marsha Borden favored high quality, organic skeins of wool to create things like knitted hats, mittens, and scarves for her beloved children. Then, one day, she looked at the pile of colorful plastic bags growing in the kitchen of her Guilford home.

“I thought, hmmmm, what can I do with these plastic bags? I really kind of became captivated. Maybe I didn’t need to buy expensive new materials like organic cotton to make them. Could I use stuff I already had?” says Borden.

Since then she has used those plastic bags to make a skirt, a bustier, handbags, Christmas ornaments, an entire tea set including a tablecloth, and several other works of art that have been shown in art gallery exhibitions next to work by artists with national and international reputations. Borden, in fact, credits her obsession with transforming these plastic bags as being key to her transformation from a mom who makes mittens to a mom who makes mittens and is also an artist and budding activist.

“For the past year, I’ve been totally concentrating on plastic bag ideas. And the reason for that is that I really feel like there’s been a visceral reaction from people. It connects with people and their concerns about rampant consumerism and mass-produced items. I’m making works that are funky, interesting, unusual, colorful, and when people look at them, there’s this sideways jolt,” she says. “These are plastic grocery bags, New York Times delivery bags. They will be on our planet longer than we are. And these are being used to create something, rather than polluting our planet.”

A Creative Approach

...In the meantime, Borden is going to continue doing her part by creating her art. She says it’s mostly about the art, but that her work has also prompted her to think about the political and environmental implications of the choices we make every day.

“What does it mean that we have all of these plastic bags? Billions of them! Can we appreciate the plastic bag and its creative uses, while at the same time understand how we might be contributing to the problem of how we don’t want to give up on the convenience and joy of carrying out our groceries in something we can then get rid of? Really, we have to think about how we are contributing to this problem,” she says.

She says a work she has currently hanging in the Spectrum Gallery in Essex, Ocean, was prompted in part by her concern about huge trash gyres being created in the world’s oceans, some of them in remote places far away from inhabited land.

“Every time you bring a grocery bag home from the store, you could be contributing to this in some way,” she says. “Everything is truly connected...My goal is not to clobber people over the head with this, but maybe to make them think a little more about the contributions we are making and what obligation do we have to do something about the problems, and to sit with our discomfort.”

Besides all of that, and her joy at being an artist with work hanging in prominent galleries, she says it’s “super fun” to make her work. She takes the bags, cuts them with scissors to make loops, then pulls those loops together in a chain, then makes those chains into balls.

“And then I use it like yarn,” she says. She adds that she’s only getting started. She’s also experimenting with bottle caps and discarded clothes to create some new artwork.

“You don’t have to be an artist or an emerging artist, you just have to want to create something,” she says. “Anybody can look at their trash in a different way and create something of value out of it. I’m not the first or the last to have thought of this. But it’s fun, and I like doing it, and if I can also touch a nerve to help people save the planet, then, yay!”


Here is a link to the full article, definitely worth a read:

Guilford Courier, August 9, 2017 Turning Trash Into Treasure

Thanks for reading!

Marsha

Looking at Nature, Abstractly

Hello Readers,

I'm thrilled to have some pieces currently being shown at Spectrum Gallery in Essex, CT.  It is an exciting show that includes abstract artists, sculptors and photographers who use nature for inspiration.   

My work includes jellyfish swimming in an ocean.  Both the ocean and the jellyfish are sculpted entirely with upcycled plastic bags.   The "abstractness" of my concept stems from the idea that the natural objects - the jellyfish and the ocean itself - have become unnatural (i.e. plastic) because of trash and pollution.  The pieces are curious, whimsical and interesting to look at, but also encourage the viewer to take a step back and consider the effects of consumption and consumerism on the environment.  

Here's a look:

The photos don't really do it justice........it really is quite lovely in person.  

I was also lucky enough to be interviewed for a piece about ocean trash for our local newspaper.  Stay tuned for more information about that!

Thanks for looking,

Marsha

Flag Swag

Happy Summer!

I love summer - the beaches, the heat, the cookouts, the lake, getting to spend time with family, road trips, fresh fruit, and of course - SUN, SUN, and more SUN.

I also love the 4th of July.  Parades, fireworks, hot dogs, red white and blue - the whole package is something to look forward to every year.  This time of year also brings to mind feelings of thankfulness and gratefulness to be living in the United States of America, the best place to live on the face of the planet.

This year, I participated in Ely Center of Contemporary Art's Fourth of July-themed show BROAD STRIPES and BRIGHT STARS, with some special edition multiples I made from upcycled sweaters.  My entire Flag Swag set, titled Seeing Stars, is featured in a pop-up store at the showt in the art center, and also online.  

You can click here to see the online shop:

https://www.elycenter.org/flag-swag/borden-seeingstars

Each piece consists of upcycled wool sweater material, wool felt, and a safety pin.   Here are some detail views:

And here is what the whole thing looks like in the on-site Pop-up shop, hanging on the wall above and beside other multiples for sale at Ely Center of Contemporary Art in New Haven:

The show runs through August 14, 2017.

Happy Fourth of July! Happy Broad Stripes and Bright Stars!  Happy Flag Swag!

Cheerfully,

Marsha

Trashy Tea at GAC

Hello again!

I am so excited about my latest plastic bag creation!  This time, I used the most colorful bags in my collection to craft an entire tea setting.  It is now on view as part of Guilford Art Center's Juried Exhibit, Front of the House:  Dining Together in Objects and Images.   

Here is more about the exhibit:

Front of the House — restaurant lingo for where guests are seated — presents serving ware and art created by American artists that are fit for the table, or represent gathering to share a meal. The exhibition was juried by Amy Kurtz Lansing, Curator, Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Connecticut.

Included in the exhibition are works by 33 artists from across the country, including pottery, utensils, paintings, drawings and photographs. Juror Lansing selected pieces that relate the sharing of food and drink in communal settings; that celebrate cookware and dishes that bring a meal into existence, and serve as its stage when presented to diners; and that bring joy through their use and their appearance, setting a mood and enhancing the character of the space they are in—what she calls “a very ‘front of the house’ appreciation for what tableware can do.”

Very cool. 

Here is the set:

And here it is on opening night:

 

And also, I won a Juror's Prize, which is kind of hard to see in this photo:

The exhibit is on view through July 26.

Thanks for looking!

Marsha

Stamp It Like You Mean It

Greetings!

Lately, I've been having fun with letter stamps and other embellishments.  I love the bright colors of the little ink pads, and the stamps are pure joy.   

The possibilities are endless, really.  Here are a few things I've tried:

More fun projects on the way!  Check back soon!

With Crafty Fun,

Marsha

One Planet. One Home.

Hello Folks,

I recently submitted my work to Kehler Liddell Gallery in New Haven for their juried exhibition One Planet.  One Home.  My piece, "Lost at Sea," was accepted for inclusion.

The work was made with upcycled plastic grocery bags and New York Times bags.

My work is meant to be a commentary about rising sea levels as an inevitable consequence of global warming, and about the 269,000 tons of plastic debris currently floating on the surface of the ocean.  

This important and timely exhibit is on view through May 28, 2017.  

Here is a link to an article about the exhibit, including a mention of my specific piece.

http://www.ctnow.com/arts-theater/museums/hc-climate-change-exhibit-0510-20170510-story.html

And here is what it looks like in the gallery:

As I've said before, this blog is not meant to be in any way a political platform.  But I cannot help commenting on what is happening in our country and to our planet.  Now more than ever, we need environmental protections to preserve our planet and to protect our natural resources.  Mother Earth needs our help.

Peace,

Marsha

Wild, Wonderful, Wearable Art Show

Hello Fashionistas!

It was so much fun to be a part of a Wearable Art Fashion Show last weekend.  The show was part of Westville Village's Artwalk 2017 in New Haven.  I decided to make an outfit entirely out of upcycled plastic bags for the show.  My original design was a sheath dress, but I ended up modifying it to become a two piece outfit.

This was a lengthy process!  First, I had to make the plastic yarn by cutting up plastic grocery bags.  I had a few Maid of the Mist ponchos left over from a recent vacation, so I decided to use those, too.

I added the waistband and then the buttons.  Because I knew the outfit would ultimately be worn by a model, I had to make sure it would fit any number of body shapes. 

I decided on a wrap style skirt, which could be fastened securely at any point along the skirt, creating either a larger or a smaller size.  For the top, I decided to go with a bustier style that could again be fitted to a larger or a smaller size.

I was so pleased with the result, even more so after seeing it on a model!  Gorgeous!

And that, as they say, is a wrap! 

See you again soon,

Marsha

The only difference between a flower and a weed is judgment

Hello!
  
We are having another bright, sunny Friday afternoon here in southern New England.  NOT!  It has been raining since 8 a.m.  But who is paying attention?  Not me.

Instead, I am focusing on flowers.  The spring blooms have been so beautiful this year, haven't they? 

Recently, I was fortunate enough to participate in a benefit at a local museum, The Eli Whitney Museum.  The theme of the benefit was Leonardo in Bloom.  Here was The Challenge:


            The bloom is the fullest expression of a flower's creativity.
             
             Let a flower seed your creativity.

             As if to forestall the brutal mechanics of Darwin's science, the early Victorians
             codified the language of flowers in elaborate dictionaries:  a fixed meaning and
             code for each bloom.  We've all but forgotten those.

            We still need to stop and surrender to the beauty and mystery of flowers.  Pick a
            flower from your memory, your imagination, or from a random walk.  Evolve a
            flower in paper, steel, glass, or any improbable medium.  Arrange a flower in an
            unexpected bouquet or myth.  Plant a flower in a fresh and unfamiliar garden.  

            Let your flower beckon - Notice Me!


Using these thoughts as a framework, I spent time thinking about how I could create flowers that were fun, whimsical, creative, and unusual.  The result?  Giant Pom Pom flowers (also known as Alliums) in my signature material - upcycled plastic bags. 

For the stems of the flowers, I used twigs that I picked up from the backyard.  I made the vase for the flowers using chicken wire.

On the night of the benefit, it was so much fun watching people look at my flowers and discover their true nature (e.g. "What the heck are these flowers made of?!").

It was also fabulous to see what other artists envisioned the flower to be.  In total, there were over 100 different renderings - paintings, photographs, sculptures, jewelry, clothing - you name it, it was there.

To flowering imaginations everywhere,

Marsha