Toxic paint fumes, heavy metals, and frequent trips to the landfill are some of the negatives that have historically come with the territory of creating art. However, “the times, they are a-changin.” A new breed of artist is emerging who is concerned with global warming while remaining committed to crafting fine art of the highest caliber.
A New Leaf Gallery is currently featuring two such vanguard artists’ works.
Gale Hart, a Sacramento-based artist who creates innovative functional sculpture influenced by contemporary graphic design, is passionate about making art that is kinder to the environment. This sensibility has permeated her work throughout her career.
“The opportunity for artists to be green is out there: what’s lacking is the commitment,” states Gale. “It’s too easy to be toxic.”
Gale uses 95% production remnants and scrap steel in her work because new steel fabrication is one of the world’s worst polluters: the extraction and production process destroys landscapes, pollutes waterways and blackens skies with toxic smoke.
Equally alarming, since most new steel is now produced in China, its “embodied energy cost,” or quantity of non-renewable resources used to create and ship the product to the United States, is one of the highest among the most commonly used fine sculpture materials.
To mitigate this negative environmental impact, Gale uses recycled steel sourced locally in Central California. She picks up a load at a time, traveling a distance of less than 100 miles and saving the 7000 miles required to ship new steel from Shandong Port in China to the Port of Oakland, CA.
Gale is in the process of completing the green picture by transitioning the finishes she uses on her work from spray paint and latex to water-based paints with an eco-friendly clear coat.
“It’s a constant struggle to be mindful and do without petroleum products, but it’s absolutely the right thing to do.” Gale says.
James Woessner is a Sausalito, CA-based artist with a completely different product but equal passion for environmental sustainability. By repurposing materials in new ways to create his whimsical, colorful figures, James starts with the three R’s of environmental consciousness (REduce, REuse, REcycle) and adds a fourth: REplace.
James’ new collection entitled “Floating Heads” utilizes found objects that wash up on the beachfront near his houseboat studio on the San Francisco Bay waterfront. His sculpture “Regina” is fabricated from a cast-off Regina floor sweeper, wooden kitchen spoon, tray handle, bamboo skewers, and rusty pieces of metal.
“Old Flattop” communicates a green message by using a men’s shoe heel as an ear and a fork as a nose, anchoring the whole arrangement with 400 copper nails gathered from the beach in Sausalito. His “Aviso” makes clever re-use of a hammerhead, saw blades, and a gas cap.
James says, “True art is a response to the imagination, which can never be allowed to stagnate.” Like the ebb and flow of ocean currents in the Bay, or the steady movement from mindless waste to eco-consciousness in our society, James innovative approach to “worthless” materials keeps his work fresh and constantly innovative.
Please visit A New Leaf Gallery to view Gale Hart and James Woessner’s latest eco-friendly work.
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