Gallery • 3 Photos

Gabriel Holte

The students who attended Garbart had a variety of crafts to choose from screen printing to paper bead making, to collaging.

Creating sustainable art was the major focus of the Garbart event held on the third floor of Anderson on Dec. 4.  Students were invited to create collages using outdated magazines and newspapers, screenprint onto old t-shirts, make paper beads and create earrings out of everything from barbie doll shoes to soda cans.

The event was hosted by the Environmental Action League, the Sustainability Office, and the Sculpture Guild. Senior Emily Haus, who works in the sustainability office, said the organizations wanted to put on an event that was fun and low pressure, but also allows for students to think about sustainability through the materials and activities that were provided.

“We wanted to provide a bunch of different spaces for people to be able to think about trash in a new way and think about recycling in a new way,” Haus said. “[We hope that] people will be reflective about waste systems and think creatively when it comes to trash and sustainability.”

Haus also noted that the event served as a great way for students to calm down in lieu of finals.

“There’s something about doing activities with both hands that lowers your stress levels,” Haus said.

First-year Anika Duckwall, another student worker for the Sustainability Office and part of the Environmental Action League, also had a part in hosting the event.

“Our goal is to promote repurposing of materials and just have fun making arts and making crafts,” Duckwall said. “I hope [students] have fun and maybe think about sustainability a little bit especially coming up on the holidays and how it is really useful to be able to make stuff with your hands and repurpose and reuse.”

All materials at the event were recycled. Students were able to create new things through ‘upcycling’ which is the process of transforming waste or unwanted products into something new and environmentally useful.

Sophomore Donald Birttnen attended the event and participated in upcycling an old shirt by screen printing a new image onto it and creating a collage out of old newspapers and magazines.

“There’s a nice atmosphere and lots of interesting projects to work on and things to do,” Birttnen said about the event.