Week One

The first week of my Artist in Residence at SF Recycling and Disposal. It might seem strange to say that I was excited to dig through the trash, but I was well aware of the treasures that lurk in the muck.

I had heard the stories from artists that had come before me and from the employees that have worked there for years. I knew there were plenty of goodies to be found. A lot of things come to the city dump and for a variety of reasons (e.g. people purging their personal clutter, stuff left behind from an apartment move, demolition/construction waste, etc.). It seems as though every commodity known to us eventually makes its way back to the landfill. Even currency gets tossed ( yes, believe it or not, people literally throw money away).

As a part of my residency at SF Recycling and Disposal, I've been given the opportunity to pull from the heaps of trash, take it back to the studio (provided on site), and make art from the refuse. I don't really know what I'm looking for specifically yet, but I have a feeling I will be presented with ample choices and I prefer to see what will be offered up in the process of looking.

Some things found in my first week include an old record player, a lot of records (the ABBA collection is almost complete), a couple of lounge chairs, a variety of old cabinet doors, some torn out lattice/trellis, a perfectly good Osterizer, Cuisinart ice cream maker, books (lots of books), and a variety of interesting bric-a brac.

Artist Paul Cesewski and James breakdown the final pieces from the Carnival.

Cleaning up the found lattice/trellis.













"The Lounge"













Vintage turntable.














Twelve chairs in need of redemption.