Tidal Wave of Trash

As the 2011 Huntington Beach Independence Day Parade marks the completion date for our Tidal Wave of Trash, we wanted to post some of the more finalized photo versions of the wave.

We are in need some some weatherproofing ideas to seal the outside of the wave to withstand the elements.

The Refurbished Rubbish girls can be reached at   refurbishedrubbish@gmail.com



Now that the parade is behind us, we have many plans in store for the wave. After seeing the reaction and receiving such positive feedback on the impact of the wave, we know that there is a lot in store for us. We are very gracious for all of the help friends and family have put into this with us, and we can't wait to keep this up.

These scupltures are not only no impact, but negative impact. With this form of art we are not only removing this waste from our earth but turning it into an influential example of how important it is to change the way we see trash, how we dispose of it, how much of it is out there, and how badly it needs to be removed from nature.

It is a long road ahead of us, but we're doing our best to make our mark.

Once again, artists Tierney Moses and Hannah Cosner can be reached at refurbishedrubbish@gmail.com

Thank you and stay in touch! We're all in this together!

Over 1,300

One of the items of trash that was very repetitive in the sorting of trash was bottle caps.  Many recognizable drinks such as Gatorade, Dasani, and CocaCola just to name a few.  We have collected over 1,300 caps total!  Please remember to toss your bottle and caps in the proper bins.   

PRESS

The Tidal Wave of Trash as opened many eyes and made it to the cover of the Huntington Beach Independent.  We are also in the LA Times, and made the 10 o'clock news on KTLA5 News station.  Hope everyone in the local area got to the photos and article.  Here are the images used in the article and a link to its page, hbindependent

Fourth of July Parade

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!  We would like to thank Farmers & Merchants bank for sponsoring our float entry at the Huntington Beach 4th of July Parade.  We are excited to announce our first place award as well!  We had wonderful volunteers walking the entire parade picking up trash along the way to help promote our Rise Against Plastic cause and we'd like to give thanks for their efforts.  

We had an amazing reaction from the crowd as we drove by and feel we have reached out to many during this parade.  If anyone has any photos taken from the crowd please email them to refurbishedrubbish@gmail.com.

Working late July 3rd to prepare the float

Our amazing volunteers walking the entire parade picking up trash along the way

 Surfrider team and Farmer & Merchants Bank team

 First Place Award for Service Category

from left to right: Tierney Moses, Tony Soriano, Hannah Cosner

Its Growing!

As litter continues to delicately pile onto the "Tidal Wave of Trash" it is slowly beginning to look more and more like the real-deal.

Here are progress photos of the wave in different lighting. Its been a very slow process sewing the garbage on, but as it builds it becomes clearer and clearer that our efforts are worthwhile. The trash seems to float on the structure, and the directional angles that the bits are placed are giving it a nice upward motion, as though the pollution is being sucked up into the curl.

We are gradually filling in the holes. We have tried to evenly space the blue and green assortments but wanted to make sure the inside was focused on the most so that the viewer will get a strong representation of our cause by walking through the barrel. 

Here is the back of the wave in a more primary stage. You can see the color gradient we are forming by placing darker colors on the bottom and having the value gradually shift to lighter tones as it moves up into the white water. 

Since our greens and blues are starting to become scarce, we have decided to incorporate the large pile of black that we have separated. Adding the black is of course darkening the wave, but in turn it is giving it this grimace mood that is starting to give it a very daunting appearance. This is starting to neutralize the appearance of the color so that it does not become too cartoonish or psychedelic.

Along with blacks we are incorporating a lot of our silvers and more reflective materials onto the back of the wave so that it will shine brightly in the sun when the light catches it. This will imitate the natural effects of a wave as the ripples on the back of the wave sparkle in the sunlight.

Being our first project of this kind, we are often recognizing things we wished we had done differently or different approaches to take. If time had allowed it, it would have been nice to have hyper-sorted the colors by value and intensity and laid it out as a puzzle of sorts to basically "paint" with varieties of colored trash. That would have taken much more time than we could afford though, its crunch time as it is. There are 5 work days left until the parade!

Regardless of what we missed out on doing for this sculpture, knowing how much room for improvement there is has acted as a fiery motivation to start another project after this one. Its exciting to see how naturally devoted and immersed in this project we are. Though our studio looks like a garbage dump, we constantly compare ourselves to Charlie Brown's Pig Pen due to the flies that we have discovered fancy us after a long days work, and my dreams have even been consumed with a mixture of trash an needle nightmares, it feels good. It feels darn good. 

We feel like we are doing something worthwhile, utilizing our talents to do our part in the preservation of the planet. Every friend that has lent a hand to sew on some trash always seems to walk away with the same feeling. We are creating and involved with something powerful, disgusting, and beautiful. 

More progress photos to come soon.

Feel free to leave us comments and do share any advice!

Updates on the Wave.

We have some news with the 2011 Independence Day Parade in Huntington Beach.

Uhaul has donated us a box truck to transport the wave and a flatbed truck to carry it in the wave. We will be having volunteers and guests of Surfrider add the final touches of the "beach" onto the trailer the day before the wave.

We have been fortunate enough to be sponsored by Farmers & Merchants Bank for entry into this years parade.

We will be marketing with Surfrider with an emphasis on their "Rise Against Plastic" campaign. There will be kids dressed up as "bag monsters" in which they where a suit covered head to toe in plastic bags. The Huntington Beach Boyscouts will also be following our float with trash claws picking up any trash that the parade has left behind, an extra bonus to the environment.

Here is the banner that will be carries in front of our float on the 4th starting at 10 am on Main St in Huntington Beach

Below is the announcement that will be made as we pass by the parade booth, put together by Emily Lewis, Marketing Department from F&M Bank

"Nothing captures the spirit of the great coastal city of Huntington Beach like an ocean wave.

Unfortunately, however, our picturesque shoreline is too often littered with empty containers, abandoned plastic bottles and other rubbish.  Beautiful ocean waves no longer crash against a pristine coastline in Huntington Beach – and elsewhere.

But with the help of the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of our oceans, lands and beaches, public awareness is growing when it comes to the pervasive effects of plastics and other discarded items on our shoreline.

And now, Farmers & Merchants Bank, an organization that stands firmly behind its belief in green practices and sustainability, is honored to sponsor the Huntington Beach/Seal Beach Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation in presenting this inspiring, one-of-a-kind sculpture created by artists Hannah Cosner and Tierney Moses.

Not only embodying the iconic city of Huntington Beach, but also reminding beachgoers of the need to recycle and properly dispose of garbage, the “Tidal Wave of Trash” sculpture is the byproduct of Andre Faubert’s 30/30 experiment in which he collected litter from the coastline of Huntington Beach for one hour a day, 30 days straight - collecting nearly 600 pounds of garbage.  If the “Tidal Wave of Trash” represents the work of one man in 30 days, think of what we could accomplish together if each of us were to make the same commitment.

F&M supports the Huntington Beach/Seal  Beach Surfrider Foundation and salutes the organization in its mission to raise awareness of the harmful effects of beachside litter.

Please join F&M in reducing the amount of plastic consumed daily and remember to visit the Huntington Beach/Seal Beach Surfrider Foundation online at www.hbsurfrider.org.  You can also visit the new Farmers & Merchants Bank website at www.fmb.com."

Come out and see us in the largest Independence Day parade on the West Coast this 4th of July! 

See you there!!!

The Tidal Wave of Trash

Hello again!

We have some very exciting developments with the wave. We found a name for it! Andre has deemed the trash monster, "the Tidal Wave of Trash." We feel really happy with this name. It represents its nature very strongly, giving it an easily recognizable title with a very new concept behind it.

Today we were interviewed by the Huntington Independent newspaper. Their article should be released around Thursday, we'll post newspaper examples up once we receive a copy.

We have been adding a lot of color to the wave. It feels really good to see it develop. The evolution of the sculpture seems to be forming so naturally. Still, any problems we seem to run into are easily figured out, and are often far less of a problem than we assumed, sometimes even a happy accident.

Here are a couple examples of our first layers at more of a close up view. We are finding so many of the same items over and over. It seems like there are thousands of bottle caps and straws, along with tons of Starbucks cups, plastic water bottles, and Capri Sun juice packs. It really makes us wonder why with all of our knowledge and technology to create plant-based, biodegradable materials that those resourses have yet to be utilized with these major companies.

Here is an up-close view of some of the whitewash we have sewn onto the chicken wire.

Here we are starting to add color to the back of the wave by sewing on the blue and green trash to the clear layer we stapled onto the wooden base.

Its amazing how familiar all of these materials we are working with are to us. We have consumed and used most all of the items we are working with. Its crazy to be so engulfed by the items we see everyday, but its sicken to know that it was all found on our precious beaches.

With each piece meticulously sewn on, its starting to feel like an enormous quilt we are creating. Each piece is being placed like a mosaic in order of color and value to stick to the true nature of a real wave.

4th of July Parade in Huntington Beach

So we have some new and exciting news with the wave... We need to find a name for it badly.... But, instead of showcasing the trash monster at International Surf Day, Surfrider Foundation was accepted into the 4th of July parade in Huntington Beach! Our trash wave will be atop a trash float to make its grand entry into the world.

The Huntington Beach Independence Day parade is one of the largest on the West Coast featuring over 300 entries. We send a big thank you to Uhaul for donating a truck and trailer needed to transport and display the wave for this event.

Come check out the parade on Monday, July 4th at Main Street in Huntington Beach from 10-1pm!!!

Allow Ourselves to Introduce Ourselves

Our names are Hannah Cosner and Tierney Moses and our game is recycled art. We are building a name for ourselves by utilizing trash and recycled materials to create sculptures and two-dimensional works.

Our first project was commissioned by Andre Faubert with the Surfrider Foundation and his 30/30 experiment.

Andre collected trash in Huntington Beach for an hour a day for 30 days and accumulated 580 pounds of trash. He came to us to turn it into a sculptural display to raise awareness of the amount of trash that we humans create on our towns' beaches. 

You can check out his blog to follow along or check in on this blog to stay updated on the project!

So to make a model for this trash that would reach the hearts of the residents living in these communities, we decided to create a monsterous wave made of wood, chicken wire, and cover the whole thing in the trash. This sculpture will allow people to walk inside the breaking wave, "getting barreled" by the mass of trash that we humans are to blame for littering on our precious beaches. 

Before any building could be done we first had to sort through the 15 some boxes of trash and categorize each piece by color. We separated the straws and bottle caps which we found the most of to be later counted and added onto our information display board. Sorting took days to finish, but our organization was well worth it later in the process.

Construction Began by creating a frame for the body of the wave with cheap particle board and holed mason board from the hardware store. The total size of the wave is about four feet wide, eight feet long, and eight feet tall. This process involved quite a bit of guessing and a whole lot of luck with how seamlessly all the pieces fit together. The team work among all of us was awesome with a really great combination of ideas and understanding. After the frame was made it was very clear to us that this project is entirely meant to happen.

Here's Andre surfing the skeleton of the wave!

Next we used some old chicken wire that we had lying around and sculpted the frame for the splashing white water that would be used as the base for the white trash to be sewn onto. Chicken wire is an amazing material to use in a project like this! It let us form the wave into a breaking beast that would be strong and sturdy after the trash was applied.

We decided that with accumulating more that 5 times the amount of clear trash than any other color, we would cover the entire wave with a layer of clear first applied by stapling. We decided that glue would be out of the question for any part of the wave. Using glue seemed like a strange approach for the purpose and message of this piece, and wouldn't last well over time opposed to other fixing methods. 

For the white water, we wanted to take a more delicate approach. For the areas sculpted with chicken wire, we chose to sew the individual pieces of trash onto the wire and to each other using fishing line. Fishing line is a very sturdy material to use. Sewing the white water became this huge quilt-like project of carefully weaving bit by bit. This approach allowed us to be really aware of the value shifts, plane changes, and textures of the trash to make it seem as much like white water as in real life. 

We worked long into the nights, each sewing at a quick pace of about two square-feet per hour. So far we have most all of the white wash sewn on and the entire wave covered in clear trash. We are just beginning the color application. When we add color our plan is to be very particular about the color and tone placement along the wave. We want to stay true to our fundamental values with our representational training. By "tightly rendering" the surface with such a crude material as trash, we hope the juxtaposition of being delicate with the products of such a massive problem encourage others to be delicate with their actions in their contribution to pollution. We will be doing a mixture of careful and minimal staples and sewing the rest of the colored garbage. Here's our most recent photos and we will keep you updated on our progress while we dive into color!