Turning Trash to Treasures - The Work of Creativity

We have trash all around us. Trash is detestable. They appear worthless and are a source of concern as they supposedly pose danger to the environment. However, a little work of creativity can turn the trash all around to treasures untold. This is the case with a Los Angeles sculptor and artist Cynthia Minet.

                                                                                                                                                                    

Cynthia Minet is a sculptor who also loves animals and her environment. She teaches Arts classes at Moorpark College California. Minet specializes in creating glow-in-the-dark animals (beautiful works of art). These wonderful creations are made of re-cycled and repurposed plastics. She bends and shapes plastic junks into oxen, elephants, camels, dogs and more. 

Minet successfully completed a work she called “Park Dogs”, a group of 5 dogs pulling a sled (first picture above), which is part of her ‘Unsustainable Creatures series’ which she began in 2009. Dumpster raids produced most of the materials she used ranging from shampoo and detergent bottle to old kitty litters, Ethernet cables and used protein powder containers. One of Minets proudest finds was the casing of a discarded orange iMac, which she used to form two of the dogs' hindquarters. A friend found a vintage rowboat in Glendale on trash night. They cut it up and reassembled it to form the sled.

To make her plastic dogs, Minet first projected a canine skeleton onto a wall and traced it. Then she constructed the basic armature of the beasts by bolting together PVC pipes. Details came next: parts of shampoo bottles for the long tongues, contact lens holders for the eyes, IKEA cooking funnels for the feet. Each dog was finally illuminated with scores of LED lights to produce the glow.

Her creation, “Park Dogs” is part of the Gyre exhibition running at the Anchorage Museum in Alaska. In 2013, her work, Packing (Caravan) was also chosen for a temporary exhibition at LA International Airport, a move to display art in airports.

I can feel the sense of satisfaction and fulfillment she feels when people walk by her works, pause, and ponder. The bewildering thing here is not just the creative work of art, but to know that they came from trash- That’s fascinating!

When we look within and around our lives, we see things we may consider as worthless or negligible. However, paying attention to details could reveal beauties untold. We possess the capacity to redefine our environment. Within your trash, treasures may abound... See you at the top.
   
(Excerpts from www.cynthiaminets.com)