creativewasteofcalifornia

David Ellis , painter and sculptor, creates his work with music in mind.  He even, “…stages events when exhibiting his motion paintings, inviting musicians, performers, and sound artists to interpret the work live.”  Most of his paintings are in the tradition of street art, drawn on public walls , sometimes even on trucks.  What we like the most however, [...]

Forrest McCluer combines parts from old computers to make “computer” viruses (haha?).  They’re actually representations of biological viruses, hardly a coughing matter.  These sculptures are very detailed as well, for example: inside the cell membrane, there are wires from a CAT5 cable meant to represent actual strands of DNA.  Shown above is the Wilco Virus, based on the [...]

This is a little project I did for a friend that needed an umbrella stand.  Above you see a banged up mailbox that someone threw away at the dump. I cleaned it up and sanded away some of the rough edges, rust and paint. I started spray-painting (I know, it’s not environmentally friendly, sorry), choosing blue tones relating [...]

The LG GD510 touchscreen phone has a built-in solar panel on the back to help with charging and will be released mid-October in Europe.  Why  is the US often last to receive new technology? Via EcoFriend A Field of shoelaces and ec0-friendly shoes by Dominic Wilcox as a part of London Design Week.  More @ designboom Don’t think these chairs are for [...]

Ok, so you probably know there are all sorts of organic material being used in clothing nowadays.  Organic cotton, bamboo, soy and hemp are being used by eco-friendly clothing and textile manufacturers, but what about using nontraditional material to spin and weave? Greetje van Tiem , a Dutch Designer has figured out a way to weave newspaper into [...]

Artish A light made by Heath Nash from found plastic objects.  He also set up a workshop where participants could build their own version of this light.  Via Moco Loco More playful use of found objects, this time, milk crates.  The character named Crate Man appears in Australia from time to time in various poses and also has a Facebook page.  [...]

Jorge Orta , an Argentinian artist produces stunning large scale light projection works.  From the artist’s website: Trained in both fine arts and architecture, Jorge began his career as a painter graduating from the Faculty of Fine Arts and the Faculty of Architecture from the University of Rosario. In response to the censorship of the Argentine military regime [...]

Labour Day last Monday was relaxing.  Back to posting.  Mulch Chairs, hand-knit Converse kicks, an eco film competition and more from Over the Weekend… Beautiful lights made from natural materials and designed by various Japanese artists and architects available at Kozai Designs .  Via Ouno Simple little log iPhone charger found on Etsy.  Via Haute*Nature Hand-knit Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars by Pretty Sneaky’s also on [...]

I’ll give it to you again, a message so “big” it must be repeated.  Earlier, Matt did a piece on Chris Jordan and his works on mass consumption.  To reveal this issue more, because I think it is so appalling how much we throw away accumulated, watch this enlightening 11 minute video (below) on more of his ideology [...]

Last day of summer!  Wow it went by pretty fast didn’t it?  Time to go back to school !  Oh wait, we finished that 5 years ago…  Well here are some links to articles on wacky bike inventions, DIY projects, events and general green news found over the weekend. Bike Stuff Matt just wrote an article on bike extras .  Here’s another [...]

Did this weekend seem really long for anyone else?  Excited to get back to work today?  No?  Here are some things to hold you over for a little while including cute pig lights, African shoes, vintage over antique chairs and since it’s time to go back to school, some articles on colleges going green(er). *Separated into [...]

After being incapacitated for most of the weekend as a result of going to a friend’s bachelor party, I found out that other people were being productive and posted a lot of articles over the last two days.  So I’ve decided to organize this week’s Over the Weekend post into categories: Art & Design, Lifestyle, and [...]

“Cleaning is not a crime .  What is a crime is the environmental damage caused by unashamed polluting,” states Alexandre Orion , a Brazilian artist based near San Paulo. When someone cleans as exquisitely as Alexandre it becomes clear how much this world needs more creative people like him to bring light on environmental issues in non-threatening ways. [...]

Second edition of some cool eco-stuff you might have missed over the weekend. (Above picture) Plastic coffee stirrers upcycled into upscale designer tables by Studio Verissimo .  They also use this common coffee shop waste to make chairs and chandeliers in 3 colors.  Via Ecofriend Marti Guixé , a Spanish designer, designed the Xarxa Sofa which is basically a chair which holds [...]

Here are some of the noteworthy green designs found over the weekend. A colorful chair with the cushion made from ribbons placed on a reclaimed chair @ Re-Nest.  DIY full directions here Tires partially made from orange oil by Yokohama, significantly reduces the need for petroleum materials.  If you are skeptical, these tires won the Popular Mechanics Editor’s Choice Award in [...]

I often browse the comments under e-zine articles even though the things that people post can get upsetting sometimes.  Online forums and comment sections are notorious as places for people to voice their opinions which naturally lead to many disagreements.  These two fish tanks were similar enough to spark the age-old argument of who’s copying who. [...]

It’s summertime!  That means go outside and enjoy the sun! While we love being under the elements, it’s common sense to stay hydrated to keep your cool out there.  Just in time, CWOCA is here to help you quench your thirst for green alternatives to buying plastic water bottles from the supermarket. First some facts on bottled water: [...]

Happy belated July 4th! Got a chance to go to Washington DC for the weekend holiday.  Kayaking, champagne pong, fireworks on the Mall (the big strip of grass between the Capitol building and the Washington Monument), friends and shooting stars were all in the mix.  None of these stopped me from finding some decent eco-art in our [...]

If you haven’t known already, for the last couple years the big lighting buzz has been incorporating energy efficient lighting into public as well as private spaces.  A couple months ago, workers replaced the remaining incandescent bulbs (in total about 4,000) around Grand Central Terminal in New York City with new compact fluorescent lights (CFLs).  Not an [...]

Yeah, that’s a book. Ok it’s more than one book, but nevertheless this sculpture by Brian Dettmer is one of his many creations slightly reminiscent of the familiar concept of scrapbooking taken to an extreme.  Unlike scrapbooking where you cut pictures out, he cuts into the books (often old encyclopedias, medical guides, textbooks and of that sort) exposing [...]