Interview With Ptomley from Hubcap Creatures

Hubcap Creatures is the idea of Ptomley, a Brighton-based artist, who (you guessed it) turns hubcaps into art. Life Goggles thought more investigation was needed, so we interviewed him.

Where did the idea come from - turning hubcaps into art?
That particular raw material came from my acquisitive nature regarding all abandoned things aesthetic to my eye, regardless of their origin. I’m not averse to picking up a bit of rubbish from the side of the road if I think it has potential. That’s what happened with the hubcaps, and I collected quite a few before I finally got around to making something out of them.

Was it an environmental decision or is that just a happy by-product?
I feel very strongly about our cultures lack of understanding regarding the nature of value. (See my website). Creating something out of supposed rubbish I hope has a positive effect on anyone open enough to absorb that concept. This sense of value was focussed by a long trip to India in the early nineties, which opened my eyes to real poverty and also to true initiative in dealing with that. When I find a particularly choice item discarded it fills me not only with pleasure at the finding but also disgust at the waste.

Do you literally just pick up any hubcap you find or have you got people scouring the streets?
They’re all side-of-the-road-finds. I used to pick up a lot going about my daily business, but with friends and family all getting into the habit I’ve been accumulating quite a hoard. It gives me a big buzz when people bother to stop and pick up a piece of rubbish to help me out and to contribute to something I feel strongly about. It’s a great compliment and a signal that I’m doing something worthwhile. I’ve had many donations from strangers who have seen me in a magazine or on TV, which makes it all very encouraging

I see a few hubcaps around - are they really that common?
Once you start looking they’re all over the place: central reservations; roundabouts; junctions; even hedges.

How did you get started?
I accumulate junk being a bit of a magpie. If you see a skip with a pair of legs sticking out of it they’re probably mine. I pick up old stereos, vacuum cleaners, lights etc. All with a view to either repairing them or passing them on, or to taking them to bits and making something else out of them. I started collecting hubcaps with the intention of making a suit of armour but haven’t got round to that yet as the fish got in the way.

How long does it take you to make a piece? I imagine the huge dragon now at a car dealership took a while!
My working days vary depending on my mood, and circumstance of course, but an average fish sculpture made from hubcaps can take about a working week to complete. Obviously this depends on how well it proceeds, and how complex or large it ends up becoming. I’ve spent over a month on one piece before, and a simple sculpture can take only a couple of days.

What’s your favourite shape to make?
The sharks I reckon…

Apart from your commissions, a lot of your sculptures are fish-based. Is that something to do with living near the sea or does the shape of your materials immediately lend itself to fish?
The fish mostly look the best as far as I’m concerned-shiny and silver, and I really enjoy myself when making them. I am foraging into other fields though, but I keep drifting back to marine creatures because I find such an enormous and interesting range. The insect world has been drawing my attention of late but I’m reluctant to make a real start so far because there doesn’t seem to be an end to the possibilities, and once I plunge in with a vengeance I’ll probably be overwhelmed.

How important is the environment in your work and outside of it?
I try to do all the usual stuff: sort out my recycling; take a bag instead of getting a plastic carrier bag; attend occasional demonstrations; shop with a conscience; use my van only for long, necessary journeys etc. But to be honest I could do a lot more. Trouble is I’m not motivated enough to take on saving the planet as my main occupation. This goes back to enjoying myself. I’m happiest when I’m creating my work so that’s where I want to be. The other things take a back seat. But I try I guess….

Is there a move towards making art out of used materials in the UK?
Not a movement as such but there’s plenty of people doing it. They’re mostly the kind that fit into the category of ‘craft’ if you’re into putting people into boxes.

You’re appearing at UK Aware in May. Apart from to sell your pieces, is that in part to show a wider audience a different side of recycling/reusing?
I don’t do a lot of self promotion and I’m often absorbed in my work so it’s good to go out occasionally to remind people that my stuff available, but mainly it’s to say that art isn’t necessarily a high brow thing. Anyone can do it, and the big benefit of eco art is the raw materials are plentiful, and usually free. That’s a big help when it comes to encouraging people to have a go. I think everybody has some sort of a creative bud inside them and it should be given plenty of water…

The 5 Stages Of Global Warming

[Via: Cectic
All contents are copyright © 2007, Rudis Muiznieks.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License.]

Frozen People In New York

Nothing really environmental about this, but I thought it was great. A group called Improv Everywhere like to make a scene. 207 people “frozen” in New York’s Grand Central Station counts as a scene.

They also participate in No Pants! day - now in several countries around the world. By pants they mean trousers and not underwear for all you English folk

[Via: Intelligent Travel]

Eco-adventure game for kids

We receive a lot of emails asking us to promote products for free. We take a look at each of them and sometimes they look good enough to pass on to our readers. Recently we received an email from Dave at Xeko which I thought some readers might be interested in.

Xeko is an eco-adventure game for kids, and for parents who are interested in teaching their kids about sustainability in general and “green” products for kids in particular. If you’re not familiar with the game already, Xeko combines two things kids love - animals and trading cards. Each card collection is based on one of Earth’s “hotspots,” beginning with the critically-endangered habitat of Madagascar. The collectible cards include facts about the species from that ecosystem in addition to illustrations that kids really love. Other collections include Mission: Costa Rica and Mission: Indonesia - the latter just debuted recently. There is a free online demo of Xeko the game available.

4% of Xeko net sales are donated to Conservation International, and the game is printed on recycled materials. While Xeko (according to them) is first and foremost entertaining, parents can feel good with their kids spending hours learning about Earth’s diverse species and unique cultures.

Xeko, as a company, produces products that foster sustainability, and hopes to inspire the next generation of eco-leaders. The website is excellent and has a list of online and brick-and-mortar stores that you can buy the game from, including diverse stores like Amazon, Whole Foods and even zoo shops!

I would be interested to hear from you if you’ve played the game, or have any suggestions for others? It looks like a great game for Christmas

Private Firework Displays To Be Banned?

Following a number of years of firework-related disasters the New Zealand Government will be looking to revise their stance on whether or not private displays will be permitted. Every Guy Fawkes fire fighters and fire fighting resources are stretched beyond capacity due to consistent irresponsible usage. Not only are numerous casualties reported every year, but many bush fires break out all over the country. The RSPCA has been lobbying against private firework sales, expressing concern at the way animals fearfully respond to the noise and lights.

So, the future of private fireworks, in New Zealand at least, does not look fantastic. This year was geared up to be a trial period with the ultimatum, behave or else. As we have seen in the news, there have still been incidents and these could weigh in the favour of a ban, with only council operated displays being allowed.

Personally I think it’s about time a ban comes into effect. The number of fires that have ravaged our native bush is a price far too high to pay, think of all that air pollution as well! After this years accident (during a professional event) involving three young children receiving burn injuries, one major super market chain has decided to cease selling fireworks and others say they may follow the lead.

Do you think it’s time for a change or do we stick with tradition?

The Fun Green Roundup #6

Salmon sperm
I couldn’t think of an amusing title for this for some reason, but supposedly salmon sperm could be a component in future LEDs.

Andrew Steckl, an expert in photonics from the University of Cincinnati (don’t worry, I had to look up photonics too, it’s apparently the science of generating, controlling, and detecting photons. I should have guessed) says: “Salmon sperm is considered a waste product of the fishing industry. It’s thrown away by the ton. It’s natural, renewable and perfectly biodegradable.” And helps LEDs somehow. Waste not, want not.

What about the pandas?
There’s a glut of bamboo products on the market at the moment for some reason. Probably because it’s fast growing. Life Goggles talked about some of them here.

Green faith
While religion is serious and not ‘fun’ as such, I thought I’d include a couple of developments here. Treehugger reports on not only the first FSC-certified Bible from Christian publishing company Thomas Nelson Inc. but also a solar powered audio bile here - which is useful!

Shower shock
Take short showers or face the consequences!

The Fun Green Roundup #5 - Halloween Green

As I was preparing to write a post about going green on Halloween (I liked the rhyme), it occurred to me that I may be a bit late and other people may have beaten me to it. And indeed they have. So if you want to learn more about being green this errr All Hallow’s Eve, then read on…

• Lighter Footstep have to nice tips here.
• Vanessa at Green As A Thistle (thanks for explaining what that means by the way, here) has a two-parter on her blog, but as I write this, only the first one is up here. I’ll update this when the second part goes up. Edit: here it is.
• And TreeHugger has a very tenuous link to Halloween here.

 

Next Page »