It's not easy being green

I now have paintings, photographs, photograms and ceramic sculptures all made with non-green materials and techniques.

Acrylic paint, although more earth friendly than oil, comes in non-recyclable containers (I took some down to the local recycling facility and was told that they, even though made of plastic and/or metal, are not recyclable). I have inadvertently contributed garbage cans full of these little containers to the land fills of California and Nevada. While the debris was piling up I told myself that they were recyclable and turned away from the mess to continue the manic painting.

Clay, my favorite medium for its sensuality and flexibility, is also un-easy on the environment. A lot of the ceramic process takes practice and each practice piece is often discarded. I have used some discarded pieces to create new pieces that discuss excess, the environment and society, but even those pieces were eventually discarded. My latest project deals with low fired clay, firing clays at lower temperatures, not using glaze and not firing the clay at. It is the most gratifying project I have worked on, yet am still aware that I am creating more "stuff".

The photograms are made with hazardous chemicals, the photographs the same, and the paper is not recyclable.

Every medium has a learning curve and along the curve is a pile of debris which I am trying to minimize. My hope is that my re-purposed projects: the tent; the jewelry chair and re-beaded curtain; and the Children's Playground piece I did for my Junior Art Portfolio Review, along with the new clay pieces will neutralize my prior carbon footprint.

The majority of the materials we need to create our pieces are imported, at huge costs to the environment with shipping and manufacturing, so for many years now I have tried to buy locally grown and manufactured but seem to often slip. For example, I needed a cutting mat since my wooden table wasn't performing well, bought the much-needed mat, only to discover after the first few cuts the tiny printing on the package, "Made in China".