Recycle, Learn, Discover and Create Artist and Educator: Ryan Mathews

Up·cy·cle ˈəpˌsīkəl/ verb gerund or present participle: upcycling reuse (discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of a higher quality or value than the original. "the opportunity to upcycle trash, or turn it into new products, was vast"

Why use Recyclables in your classroom? The cost of materials would be less damaging to your budget. Environmental reasons pertaining to conservation, sustainability and population changes. Recycling items in the traditional sense costs money and resources. A large amount of recycled materials are great for public art opportunities (plastics, woods and metals). Creating something significant from trash or discarded items causes a change of perspective in students, anything is possible.

Easy and great recyclables Paper bags – costumes, masks, fold-away towns, puppets Rug and tile samples – hot pads, covers for small books, fuzzy boxes, sit-upons, dioramas Plastic lids - coasters, frames, mobile parts, molds for plaster plaques Odd mittens, gloves, and socks – finger and hand puppets, clothes for small dolls Buttons – jewelry, mosaics, eyes for stuffed animals, collages, game tokens Hangers – simple mobiles, cloth banners, weavings Panty hose/stockings – weaving, braiding, doll or puppet heads Scrap wood – toys, carvings, construction projects, games, building blocks, printing blocks Cardboard fast-food containers – unusual displays for class work or special projects. Stones, shells, and water-smoothed glass – paperweights, sculptures, jewelry, mosaics Shredded paper – stuffing for cloth dolls, animals, or pillows Pressed flowers, leaves, and grass – place mats, window transparencies, collages. Bits of string, yarn, and cord – string painting, animal tails, braiding, stitchery, macramé

Must use Recyclables Some projects you are forced to use recycled materials such as : Collage and Paper Mache:

Public Art Materials. Metals: Travelling hubcaps: 2014-2015 public show featuring over 70 hubcaps from different participants. Artist: Ryan Mathews

Public art Collaborative opportunities: bike car and metal pieces. More outdoor materials include wood, bottle caps, plastic, dvd/Cd

How to get such materials Create an in-classroom recycle system: Children can decorate cardboard boxes to use as sorting bins. Each bin should indicate the material it's for: plastic, paper, metal cans, Styrofoam. Contact local resources: wood shops, auto shops, banner and signs businesses, etc.. Most of the time these places are happy you called. For great recycle projects especially sculptural, you will need adhesives. Modge podge great for paper mache and collage. For metals you will need strong and most likely toxic adhesives, make sure you follow directions pertaining to protection and ventilation. Good brands to use: Strong Weld, loctiteandJB *Explain the importance of washing hands after recycling materials. Make sure children clean their hands thoroughly after they recycle!

Incorporating STEAM and Common Core It is important to offer students the opportunity to connect their art to other contexts within the school system and world. You can do this by always incorporating a literacy aspect- include reflections, journal entrees, sentence building activities. By providing supportive curriculum in your art room you are combining creativity, skills and logic. STΣ@M is an acronym that represents how all topics in subject areas relate to each other and to the real world. The sentence that defines this is: Science & Technology, interpreted through Engineering & the Arts, all based in Mathematical elements. STEAM.

Why is STEAM good when working with recycle projects? https://steameducation.wordpress.com/category/art/ Historical context. New perspectives. Things they can do on their own.

Resources Raft: http://www.raft.net/ http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/clever-ways-recycle-everyday- items-classroom-projects http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/teacher-tips-classroom- recycling http://steamedu.com/