Alright…I met the challenge head on and created this little guy from bits and pieces of trash that would have otherwise ended up in the landfill. He’s not the cutest, sweetest guy around but he certainly carries a great message.

I am a huge recycler! I learned it from my dad. He was a depression era baby so everything was precious. He was always dragging something home that was destined for the dump. The house I grew up in and our cabin both had stairs leading down from the outside decks that were the stairs in the stands from old Met Stadium. Dad took as much as he could haul and store. I don’t know if the present owners of either place even know where their outdoor stairs came from but it makes me happy to know that dad did his part in saving some history.

A dear friend of mine whose birthday also happens to be today put forth a challenge:

Dr. E wrote “I want to talk a little bit about one of the things that means a LOT
to me: Earth Day, another day we celebrate today. When Earth Day
first started, people who recycled were considered liberals, tree
huggers, and kooks. Composters were arrested in Florida and Colorado
for having eyesores in their yards, and people who wore Berkinstocks
were labeled “odd.” I may be a kook, and I may have a compost pile,
but I believe that if you buy something, you do so with a purpose of
using it until it has been used to its fullest potential. That’s why
I believe we should use our found objects (anything destined for the
trash) in our art and take our food waste to the compost pile. Let’s
celebrate Earth Day by gathering found objects, then making wonderful
art from them.

Therefore, I challenge each of you to make something this week from
one or more found objects.”

I’m going to take her up on her challenge and will post my results later this week.