Over the last 15 years I have had the privilege of traveling to Bolivia, my parent’s home country, and other surrounding Latin American countries such as Chile, Peru, and Argentina. Visiting family members abroad led me to eventually question the difference in economic and social development between these countries and the United States.

I remember watching small communities abroad reusing recycled materials and other objects which would normally be considered “trash” to build everyday items and homes. In one project in Colombia, people hand built homes out of layers of plastic bottles and cement. A small community in Costa Rica started making mats and pillow cases out of plastic bags.
I want to use art in order to have an impact on society. Art is a great way to change personal attitudes about the environment, it enhances motivation and it makes the experience a lot more personal for the viewer. Unlike environmental and economic policies art promotes a more visual and hands-on experience.

The act of becoming self-sustainable is a challenging one, but I believe that by embracing the interconnectedness of art and nature is a great way to start bringing awareness to people about the negative effects of consumption and waste on our environment. I create everyday objects with recycled and found materials to promote both economic and environmental sustainability.

For this interactive piece I have used all the materials available to me, transformed them, and generated a Create or Trade-In center containing everyday objects. The items range from house hold decorations to clothing and accessories all made out of recyclable and found materials including newspaper, plastic bottles, organic dyes, plastic bags, cardboard, wood, etc. Alongside these various items I have added specific instructions about the time spent and the materials used to enforce the concept of labor.