Virginia A. Spiegel

Remember my The Garbage Day Project?  I have wanted for some time to re-visit the hundreds of photos I have on file from that project.  So when a call went out from SAQA challenging artists “to venture into uncharted territories of creative expression by turning away from the comfort zones of their established body of work,” I knew where I wanted to start.

Above is a very small detail of Garbage, a new work in a new vein.  I’m becoming a little superstitious about showing new work before sending it to its first jury, so I will show the entire piece in the future.

New avenues I’m exploring in this artwork: Bigger use of my own manipulated photos, a pieced background!, a more subtle color palette, and hand-stitching along with extensive machine stitching,
What’s the same: It’s still all about the message as well as layers of texture and meaning.  And I hope I have kept some of the ironic nature of the original Garbage Day Project:  I’m making you look at garbage and think it’s beautiful, but there is nothing more insidious and wasteful in the world.

Just to keep us up to date, here is a garbage photo I took this week.  Our garbage guys are still coming in the dark, but some people are putting their garbage out early the day before.  I can tell you that the waste and quantity hasn’t diminished a bit.

Twisted

I’m just like a new parent.  So proud, so excited.

My book, The Garbage Day Project: Garbage, Art, and Recycling, is now available here.

Based on my The Garbage Day Project blog, this book is an artistic and humorous look at the amazing (by that I mean shocking) amount of garbage set out each Tuesday in my small subdivision.

The rules: Use only my Coolpix camera and no moving or touching anything.

The result:  Garbage as you have never seen it before.

It’s an 8×10″ landscape format book and you can preview the first fifteen pages. Unlike some books with many blank pages, this one is stuffed with photos.

And while we are on the topic of environmental issues, do stop by Dawn Goldsmith’s blog, Subversive Stitchers:  Women Armed with Needles, for concrete suggestions for fiber artists that can help the environment.

White Light

Even though I closed out The Garbage Day Project, you know I couldn’t resist this crazy worm nest of light sets spilling out of a garbage can.  It reminds me of my own dilemma. I should replace my old holiday lights with the new energy-efficient LED ones. But then what? Chuck all those lights out in the garbage or donate them so someone can have lights, but highly inefficient ones??

On a positive recycling note, check out this great gift idea:

It’s a wine bottle recycled into a cheese board from C.D. Childs’ Etsy shop. It’s a great gift idea, but I’m keeping it for myself.  If you are shopping this holiday season, think handmade!