Category: cigarette butt litter

S6A

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Supplies and materials flowing in at a steady rate. Got the next two kits prototyped and spec’d, therefore only needing specimens, photography models, and instructions. Easy-peezey. Mighty progress!

The Argo Wool Works build-in-progress has been moved back up onto the high shelf, to free the work table for kitting, photography and the rest. I’m also putting away the needlepoint frame, and about half a dozen other would-be, want-to-be, once-were projects. Deargod I may even dust.

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So sad.

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I’m surprised I get as much done as I do.

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In other news, Brian and I headed out this morning for a beach walk and cleanup. Esplanade had no beach at all because of high surf, so we went to Sharp Park. So very many small bits of styrofoam, plastic bottle caps, straws, and miscellaneous plastic packaging, all washed down to the ocean with the recent rains :(

Still, the waves were booming, and there were many dogs and walkers out. I love the coast in winter.

Nothing Beside Remains

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This month’s very tardy nancyland splash page pays homage to two of my favorite things: Shelley’s sonnet “Ozymandius” and beach cleanups.

I recently became site captain for Esplanade Beach volunteer cleanups organized by Pacifica Beach Coalition, and my experience is heartfelt and mind-expanding. The image on the splash page is a fishing buoy, possibly debris from the 2011 Japanese tsunami, retrieved from the beach some sixty feet below:

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The part of the poem that most resonates with me:

“The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed
…
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Foundation Rock Painting

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Here’s the upside-down foundation with an “Espresso” wash, after drying overnight.

Delta Ceramcoat was on sale for US$0.97 (!) so I stocked up on these gorgeous earth colors:

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If I wore lipstick I would totally want some in “Georgia Clay”.

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I followed up with washes of “Roman Stucco”, “Trail Tan” and “Light Ivory”. Some stones were painted with a heavier wash of the light ivory, then dabbed off.

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This is what the underside of the floor would like like if you crawled under the foundation and looked up. It will never be seen in the build, but I like knowing it’s there.

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I was going to glue in joists and floorboards, but I’m just not feeling that crazy. Look at how different the stone color looks because of the light:

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The exterior foundation walls are going to be built from salvaged dressed stone, with the occasional rubble and timber posts. I’ll be using egg carton:

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And must now remember to buy the same kind (Judy’s Organic) to keep textures similar.

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Here’s the start. It will be built at the rate at which I acquire cartons, which is equivalent to driving a rubble-loaded wagon back from San Francisco, so it will take a while. And that’s okay. The scenery is gorgeous :)

Lastly, I’ll share this PSA I made today. In the crafts store parking lot I looked down to see this perfect little horror of the most commonplace litter. Feel free to share :)

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*steps down from soapbox*

Big Butt: Complete

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Finished the stand for the big butt. The clay pot is 9.5 inches (24 cm) tall and 10 inches (25.5 cm) in diameter.

I made the flowers and leaves from various papers I had on hand, 18 and 22 gauge stem wire and florist tape. Working in macro takes up way more room and materials!

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I chose the papers because in this context, they looked diseased :)

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As I was working, I heard a crinkling sound. It was Napoleon, my helper cat, ensuring the papers stayed put.

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The flowers are made from the same kind of rice paper as the leaves. Like I said, they look like they are succumbing to something dire.

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I glued a piece of florist foam to the bottom of the pot, and packed in Spanish moss around it. The flower stems were a little too bendy, so I wrapped another length of 18 gauge around them with florist tape.

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After I stuck the flowers in the foam, I packed the pot with layers of glue and all my leftover preserved moss from the Sea House Warming Hut living roof.

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I heard another rustling. This time it was Albie. I guess Napoleon’s shift was over.

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I made a dead flower :(

What do you think of my rendering of disease by toxic chemicals leached into the environment? I used a brown Sharpie marker.

Wait! I don’t want to end this post on such a sad note, so here’s the finished piece again. Isn’t my house a cheerful color? (I didn’t choose it.) I glued bleached moss on the dead side of the pot, and shades of green on the narrow rim that’s still living. Underneath the cigarette is crushed charcoal (and more glue). Note how the living flowers are straining to get away from the big butt. There’s a story here.

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Now I want you all to put on gloves and go outside and pick up all the cigarette litter you see.

(If you’re really dedicated to making a difference, you can keep doing this and save them up — carefully, that stench will get on you — and send them to be safely recycled at Terracycle.)

Unless you want this:

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