‘I think it’ll tickle people’: Recycled art show opens at Ferndale gallery

When Mark Seeger first stopped into Ferndale’s It’s About Time Cultural Arts Center, he wanted to discuss African art.

“Mark came by one day because I have an African [art] collection, and I showed it in the front window when there wasn’t a regular gallery showing,” owner Sasch Stephens told the Bellingham Herald in an interview at the gallery on Thursday. “He wandered in the door one day and said, ‘Hey, I got some, too. You want mine?’”

Instead, the duo ended up with an idea for It’s About Time’s next show and “grand re-opening” — one focused on recycled art.

Seeger mentioned his own work — robotic figurines made from re-purposed kitchen appliances — to Stephens, who thought it fit nicely with his goal of making the center a community art space as much as a gallery.

“There’s galleries around. People [have] seen paintings and stuff, but they’ve never seen stuff like this,” said Stephens, who also designs sundials. “It inspires people to make things.”

Recycled art show opens in Ferndale

The pair strung together a few other local artists whose work repurposes discarded materials. The end result is the gallery’s second-ever show featuring Seeger’s bots, along with work from Bellingham’s Alicia Wills, Lummi Island’s Lee Mosley and Orcas Island’s Ron Glassett. The show opened at noon April 18, and will run Fridays and Saturdays through May 31.

“I said, ‘Well, let’s get some other people who are doing something similar and have a fun, recycled show,’ and we did,” Seeger said.

Seeger contributed the widest range of his work that he’s showcased yet, primarily bots but with a few other sculptures as well.

“I’ve made more than just robots,” Seeger said. “I’ve made masks. I’ve made partials, if you want to call it [that]. I’ve made utensil people. I’ve got some ray guns.”

According to Seeger, the recycled component of his art is more an added bonus than the point.

“I just like the idea of finding parts that I could make something with. And if it kept something out of the junkyard, that’s great for me,” Seeger said.

Mosley’s work is similar in that it features human-like figures made from everyday objects. However, his pieces usually contain some form of light and are more focused on the figure’s head.

“I’m always in the market for heads,” Mosley said. “I turn them upside down and put a pair of glasses on. If it looks like a really interesting figure, then I think, ‘OK, that’s great.’”

Why recycled art?

Mosley began making recycled art after he saw a teapot adorned to resemble a face. He had his own ideas for how to improve it.

“The people had done what everybody does, which is just put the teapot in the lid and some sparkly things on there, but the noses are always going the wrong way,” Mosley said. “I thought that’d be so much better if it were turned upside down. And so I bought a few, and pretty soon I started making things.”

Mosley said that much of making recycled art comes down to paying attention to what you see in your day-to-day life.

“As most people who are visual, I’m seeing stuff all the time. If you take a look at a shoe sitting there, it looks like it’s screaming, because this part of the shoe looks like an open mouth,” Mosley said. “And so just a pair of old, broken down shoes have character.”

Glassett’s work might fit the definition of recycled art best out of the entire group — he sources his components from the Lummi Island junkyard and fastens them into whatever comes to mind. While he won’t be at the gallery for the opening, a wide range of Glassett’s work is displayed on a table in the back right corner.

Lining the walls behind the sculptures and figurines are Wills’s collages. Each one centers on a particular theme or emotion and the pieces are taken from magazines, calendars and birthday cards.

“It’s more of letting your subconscious come out,” Wills said. “So we flip through magazines, and when something just strikes you, you rip it out and put it aside. And you flip some more and you rip it out and put it aside.”

How to visit Ferndale recycled art show

While people tend to focus on the environmental impact of recycled art, Wills said that what really sets it apart is how fun it is to interact with.

“The other thing about recycled art and a recycled art show is that it’s fun,” Wills said. “Modern art can can be serious. Landscapes are beautiful. It has a whole different type of appreciation. But recycled art often ends up being really fun, or thought provoking. ... Where do you find the pieces that you turned into your collages?”

Wills added that unlike most art exhibits, this show is equally geared toward children and adults.

“It’s the kind of art show that I think it’ll tickle people,” Wills said.

It’s About Time is located at 2013 Main Street in Ferndale. The show will run from noon to 6 p.m. April 18-19, and noon to 4 p.m. every Friday and Saturday after that through May 31.