Eco Arts and Crafts Contest, Video, Nancy Martini

“Creativity, the Cornerstone to Improving the Environment” — Nancy Martini

In Nancy’s Honor, GEN is conducting an ECO ARTS & CRAFTS CONTEST! EVERY PARTICIPANT WINS HONORS! Get the scoop below!

Nancy Martini writes: I am an Art Director and Artist creating with recycled materials for as long as I can remember. Someone always seems to find me when they are in need of help for some crazy project that nobody else will touch. Of course there is never any money, so out of necessity I hurry over to the trash pile or the recycling bin. Whether it is a float for a parade, haunted house, sets for a play, fundraiser, costumes it really doesn’t matter. Design is the same… a solution to a problem.

When I begin working on a new piece of art I start by addressing what bothers me. Trash bothers me, especially after a hurricane when the garbage trucks cannot pick-up the trash for a week. With all the trash I see, I can’t help thinking about how wonderful it would be if companies were required to list all the materials they used for their packaging on their products like the nutrition facts on the back of food containers.

Yes, recycling is an easy way to get rid of all the packaging, plastic, etc. but is that enough? It seems like such a waste to me. I think we should consider our purchases by factoring in the packaging and what we are going to do with all the waste; not just pass it along to the recycle bin. It is almost like making it o.k. to purchase all the bulk you want because, “it can be recycled.” Recycling is great, but after you have repurposed everything you possibly can.

This piece is made of everything left around my house. My house always seems to be in constant motion. Stuff moves from room to room. We consume food that has packaging. What to do with the leftover packaging is a constant challenge. Plus, people give me things all the time. Like the silverware in this piece. I didn’t design the piece and then look for items to put in it. The mismatched fork and knife has been in my silverware drawer for the past two years; glaring at me; waiting for me to figure out what to do with it. Unmatched and unwanted, I couldn’t just recycle it or give it to Goodwill. What would they do with it? Everyone creates art for different reasons. For me, it’s my voice saying the things I want to say, but just can’t get it out in words. Click Here to Visit Nancy’s Blog  

ECO ARTS & CRAFTS CONTEST! EVERY PARTICIPANT WINS HONORS!

Anyone can enter, one student, a class, a whole school, family, art colony, crafter, camp group, environmental group, green company, church, YMCA. The only rules are these:

• Your art or craft project must be dominated by discarded material or material many people might think discardable
• To enter you must first register to be a member of GEN so that we can send you a password enabling you to submit a photo or the page url of a youtube-posted video of your art or craft for publication on GEN
• Once registered as a member: (1) Create your work(s) of art and/or craft (it can be the work of one person, one work done by a group, or the works of each person in a group), (2)Take a photo and post it in our Members Only area or send it attached to greghilbert@greeneducationnetwork.com or post video as above (or on youtube, emailing the url to us)  (3)  To claim your honors you’ll need to send an email to greghilbert@greeneducationnetwork.com so that GEN can create your free, customized Honorary Commendation Certificate and get it to you! (Click Here to see one)

Because GEN Members are automatically entered in GEN’s free prize drawing (no purchase necessary, see “Terms of Use, Privacy, Copyright, Prize Drawings” beneath Information at left)…

…You could also win a Digital Video Camera or Other Prize!

And for a limited time, we’re giving Members a Free SAVE IT! Car Magnet just for sending us an email

Dr Ishaq, GEN invites its friends at the International Child Art Foundation (ICAF) to get involved, and we also welcome the National Art Education Association (NAEA) and its members!

Giraffe and Artist Ms Knoll

Ms Knoll’s mother Nikki writes: “Here’s a project my daughter made for the recycled art contest. She used Pringles Chip cans for legs, a shoebox for the body and an oatmeal box for the head. The googly eyes, yarn tail and ribbon tongue were repurposed from a recent birthday invitation. She finished it off with some leftover house paint and a sponge that we were throwing away. What a great rainy day project!”  GEN agrees, and Nikki will find an Honorary Commendation here.