Creating and Maintaining a Trash-Free / Litter-Free Zone

I love litter. I don’t love what litter/trash does to our environment,  but I love that it can be a metaphor for where we’re at. I believe once the metaphor is understood and embraced, then real change can happen. I’m all about

sharing that message.  I like to work from the inside out and the ground up. I want to change the way we live on this planet — live in a neighborhood that is litter-free.

Litter can be transformed (I like to say trashformed) into useful products.

Litter can be eliminated.

Litter can be a teaching tool.

Littering is a choice.

Litter can be trashformed into artwork.

Litter can be used as an inspiration for creating meaningful dialogue.

And… the Litter List can go on and on.

Another reason I love litter is that it’s easily accessible and a free resource. As an artist, it has become my recent media of choice — making artistic statements with litter in a way that I have not been able to do otherwise. The photograph featured here is my first piece using rusted traffic-flattened metal bottle caps as leaves on a tree. The collection of the rusted bottle caps was in full swing when the challenge of creating a “social commentary” work was presented to me. This is the resultant piece,  titled “Bottlecapius Litterous”.  When litter is everywhere, like the leaves on a tree, they become so commonplace we don’t “see” it anymore.

QG-logo-EarthBlue copyI envision, through my art, my blog, my work that I can make a difference, not by myself, but by engaging others in the process of working toward that goal… a litter-free space they can be proud of. I invite you to visit my webpage to be a part of what I am calling the Quintessential Global Trashformation movement, and take the pledge, and download a free, signed image  (suitable for framing) of “Bottlecapius Litterous.” Pledge to become part of the solution. http://www.susieqwood.com/trashformation.

What can you do today that will make an immediate improvement for the neighborhood landscape?

Contemplate the ground upon which you walk or ride.