Contributed by Jill Farris
Recycling has to be creative, so Valley Community for Recycling Solutions (VCRS) is rekindling the fire to advance our message. We have an elevated view of human potential, seeing an underutilized resource when imagination is left untapped. Art can explore complex ideas like those that surround recycling issues and develop a sensitivity to the limits of our natural resources. Craftavists lend a listening ear to nature and use their creative input to help the greater good. Our goal this year is to harness tremendous energy in this area, with the intention to invigorate community recycling. A 2019 schedule of events is filling out and good vibes will resonate from all sorts of local landmarks. Creative minds reveal fresh ideas and useful recommendations when artists collaborate in our classroom every Thursday at 1PM.
Models from the Valley Arts Alliance (VAA) Wearable Art Show will stimulate our senses with a terrific jolt at the VCRS annual OCEAN Campaign on February 28th. Donations of any size generated at the Shake, Rattle, & Recycle fundraiser help bankroll VCRS’ annual operating budget. Local businesses are invited to bring eight guests to the luncheon at Evangelo’s Restaurant for the price of $300.00 per table sponsorship which includes the real crack up entertainment on the lower level.
Sweeping through the banquet room, generating enthusiasm intended to trigger a tsunami of monetary contributions, the models strut and sway to their theme music. Elaborate costumes constructed out of recycled material built to withstand the magnitude of attitude radiating from the CD plumed peacock to the disruptive gladiator sporting a suit armor/Wearable Art Show’s old event tickets. Our deepest gratitude goes out to all who participate and to BP for underwriting the luncheon. Tickets at VCRS (907) 745-5544 (OR www.valleyartsalliance.com for their show on February 16th).
Recycled art is a sponsored category at the Alaska State Fair this year, thanks to Alaskans for Litter Prevention and Recycling (ALPAR) who is securing prizes to award. If you didn’t get a chance to visit our recycling education booth then you missed out seeing and voting on some unique recycled garden art pieces. This year, exhibit areas and our “Little Green” school yard will be stocked with entries that draw attention to the many ways recycled materials can be reimagined into an attraction. Also on the horizon: upcoming Saturday workshops to enhance this mobile classroom, including using recyclables as building materials.
Prize-winning garden art accompanies a multitude of manmade projects using recyclable materials that border our outdoor education trail. Alongside the flora and fauna reclaiming the land are hand-painted rocks and mosaic tiles revealing the hint of an “edge”. Naturally, it’s more appealing in the spring and summer, but winter possesses its own beauty with the trail and trees blanketed in snow. We have seen eagles, moose, fox and rabbits hunting and foraging through this corridor. Instruction on light technique when painting acrylic landscapes is available during these weekly artistic get-togethers.
Passing through reflections of broken light and breathtaking views, one may think through the finely layered details of an arrangement. Who will be the next person inspired to shift their focus on this ever-changing landscape as they follow the carved path laid out by local legends? Visitors gather ideas for future creative endeavors or come to take a self-guided tour, using our custom trail guide to identify native plants, trees and other points of interest. Behind the recycling center, a new solar powered Earth Cube Compost System speeds up the decomposition process of mixed food scraps and wood shavings to produce a gorgeous humus similar to the rich soil we see on the boreal forest floor. It’s an easy walk and also wheelchair accessible.
Few understand how to transform the unfunny idea of recycling into the local production of Alaska Home Companion Theater. Unaware, innocent bystanders get swept into the challenging, dramatic development of soft, humorous skits exposing the underbelly of a large yet uncomplicated dilemma. Track the evolution of two-legged performers compelled to appear on stage and broadcast a live radio performance to our outlying community about everyday experiences of Alaskans.
Problem solvers united in a functional art form explore ideas necessary to create intricate Steampunk sculptures and are welcome to display in our student gallery. This is a great way to immagineer kinetic movement using elements of science, technology, reading, art, and math (S.T.E.A.M.) curriculum to fuse the old and new.
Release the pressure this time next year, let’s rejoice and take satisfaction with the seasonal opportunity to make festive ornaments together. Using corks, we would like to pull out all the stops as we are set to trim next December’s Annual Trees of the Valley Christmas event at Glenn Massey Theater.
