The Earth Speaks V

For the past five years, The Pocono Arts Council in Stroudsburg, PA has hosted The Earth Speaks, a Juried Exhibition on the Environmental Crisis.  This year I entered my plastic jellyfish for consideration, and I was thrilled to be accepted and to win The Juror's Choice Award for my work.

I wasn't able to make it to the reception, which was held at Dunning Art Gallery at Northampton Community College, Monroe Campus (Tannersville, PA), but I was glad to be part of this very important exhibition.

Here is the statement that accompanied my work:

"This piece, Jelly Nation, was created entirely with a human-made source of ocean pollution – single-use plastic bags. In designing this work, my goal was to raise awareness of the current health of marine life on our planet.  About one trillion single-use plastic bags are used annually across the globe. That’s nearly 2 million every minute.  They end up floating in oceans where turtles, albatross and other sea creatures mistake them for jellyfish.  Also, since jellyfish thrive in environments where overfishing, rising water temperatures and ocean acidification are prevalent, the future of our ocean’s biodiversity is further at risk.  The jellyfish in this piece were constructed using freeform crochet techniques.  It is my hope that these colorful, lyrical creatures call to mind the beauty and fragility of our underwater ecosystem, one that needs our attention and protection in order to survive."

You can read more about the exhibition here (copied from Pocono Arts Council Newsletter, Volume 30, Number 5):


“The Earth Speaks V: A Juried Exhibition on the Environmental Crisis,” is on exhibit in The Dunning
Gallery at NCC Monroe from April 6-May 23, 2019. The Earth Speaks is an artist’s means of capturing their concern regarding the climate crisis and how it is affects our planet, as well as an opportunity to offer possible solutions.

Forty artists submitted 70 pieces to be juried. 50 works were selected to be included in the show from
artists residing in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.  Awards were granted in the following categories to those encapsulating the environmental crisis theme:
Juror’s Choice Award: “Jelly Nation,” Marsha Borden, Guilford, CT;  Kay & Girard Lichty Climate Crisis Award: “A Voter’s Advertisement,” Brianna Cook, Tannersville, PA; Otto Grever Printmaking Award: “Desert Sea I,” Scott Magin, New York City, NY;  3-D Award: “PLAN{et} B Ain’t Pretty,” Susan O’Hanlon, Downingtown, PA;  2-D Award: “Fracking-Marcellus Shale,” Mary Waltham, Princeton, NJ; Photography Award: “Make America Gasp Again,” Jack Swersie, Reeders, PA; ARTSPACE Gallery Student Award: “Plady” and “Blue Ocean,” Maxine Leu, SUNY New Paltz, NY; Origins Gallery Award: “Dead Air,” Matthew Casella, East Stroudsburg, PA; Honorable Mention: “Frog Queen,” Ian Leiva, East Stroudsburg, PA,

Juror for the show was Harry C Tabak: Tabak’s early work reflects his bond to nature through his
landscape paintings. Social commentary followed with an emphasis on environmental issues for nearly two decades.

Thanks for reading! 

Easy Peasy T-Shirt Fabric Flowers

There was a lot of interest for the Fabric Flowers from last weekend's workshop.  I thought I'd publish the pattern here, for anyone looking to keep on making flowers!  This pattern is the no-sew version.  If you are so inclined, it is very doable to put a tiny hand stitch in each fold as you go along, rather than the hot glue.  Either way, you'll have an adorable accessory by the time you are finished.

Easy Peasy T-Shirt Fabric Flowers

1.  Draw a circle on the back of your t-shirt scrap and cut it out.
2.  Mark the center of your circle with a small dot.
3.  Put a small amount of hot glue on the dot.  Fold the bottom edge of the circle up to meet the dot
     and glue.  Fold the top edge to the dot and glue.  Repeat for the two side edges, bringing them to 
     the center and gluing.  
4.  Take one corner and slightly unfold it.  Bring this up to the circle and glue.  Repeat for the other 
     three corners.
5.  Embellish the center with buttons, beads or gems.  DONE!  

The trickiest part of this pattern is Step 4.  It might help if you think about origami and how sometimes corners are unfolded and brought to the center.  It's the same idea.

Make lots!  Enjoy the process!

 
**all of the pictured flowers were made by my daughter.  :)

Links for Clothing and Footwear Recycling Programs

Here is a follow-up to my workshop Creative Reuse:  T-Shirt Transformations.  While doing research for the session, I found a bunch of great sustainable resources and organizations that will take your used clothing and textile items and repurpose them for other uses.

Here are a few:

The Bra Recyclers: An organization that will find a way to recycle, reuse or repurpose bras. You can find a drop-off station or mail old bras directly to them.

Planet Aid's yellow collection bins (popping up soon on a street corner near you) offer peace of mind with a convenience factor. The nonprofit sells collected textiles to vendors in developing countries and uses the profits to support sustainable agriculture programs in sub-Saharan Africa.

Earth911.com is a one-stop-shop for recycling resources. Save time with their search engine that lists recycling centers by item type and zip code.

Soles 4 Souls: A national shoe recycling program.

H&M has a new policy allowing shoppers to donate bags of clothing (which don't have to be in good condition or carry an H&M label) in exchange for a 15 percent discount on an item of their choice. Puma and The North Face stores also accept worn clothing, and other retailers such as Levi's, Gap, and Patagonia offer recycling sale events—inquire at local locations to see what's planned.  Visit www.2hm.com for more information.

Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles: An online platform that will help you find the nearest textile recycling outlets near you.

Donation Town: A site that helps you find a local clothing donation pick-up service in your area.

Patagonia, Common Threads – Bring back your unwanted Patagonia clothing and accessories to any Patagonia store and they’ll recycle it and give you store credit!

The North Face, Clothes the Loop – Recycling clothing and shoes from any brand at North Face stores.

Nike collects old athletic shoes from any brand that they grind up and use to create courts, fields, tracks and playgrounds.  Find out more at www.nike.com.

For local people, here is a link to The Downsizing Donation Guide that gives an extensive listing of New Haven County CT community organizations to help people place gently used items from their homes or businesses.

The Downsizing Donation Guide

Happy recycling!  If you use one of these recycling options, or if you find any other good program, send me a message at marsha@marshamakes.com and let me know!