I began collecting littered items that were circles--bottle caps, lids, and things like that. My thinking was that I couldn't pick up everything I saw, and I like circles. My work is usually inspired by the materials. Litter From Four States began in my hometown of Mount Shasta, California. During the year of gathering littered items I traveled to Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico. While I tried to keep the circles theme I found so many interesting artifacts that interested me and some of them made me laugh. I often wonder if the items were discarded or just lost. I'm pretty sure no one purposely discarded the leather drum head I found at a gas station in Santa Fe. Who tossed the Spanish language CD's out of their car? Why didn't the street painters pick up the tire tread instead of leaving it there?
I am interested in doing this project in other communities. Please contact me if you are interested in see this project take place in your town...we can partner with local groups who are already picking up roadside trash an create an new art piece with your litter.
Litter encased in plastic strips - 12' wide by 6' tall
This image was taken at the West Coast Bi-Annual Juried Art Show at Turtle Bay Museum, juried by 2015 Juror, Ms. Bonnie Laing-Malcolmson, MFA. Ms. Laing-Malcolmson is the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Curator of Northwest Art at the Portland Art Museum.
