Re-works of art
Recycled material finds new life at downtown Summerside event
SUMMERSIDE — Georgina Markov has been a long-time supporter of using what some might consider trash and turning it into artistic treasure.
She said she finds material in the most unusual places.
“My poor husband. We’ll go out for a drive on garbage day and I’ll be looking at the piles for possibly anything I could use. He’s of the mindset ‘What are you going to use that for?’ While I think: ‘I don’t know, but I know I’ll use it for something.”
Her sculpture of a seahorse made completely out of hubcaps is one of about 30 artists and musicians to line the streets for the Summerside Arts Festival, which took place July 22-24.
“I find (hubcaps) along side of the road. The way to Charlottetown is really bad. The piece is made of 22 hubcaps I’ve been collecting for two years, all cut and held together with wire and rods. Even the stand is recycled with an old tetherball pole,” said Markov.
Lucie Bernadette Bellemare is another artist who has made her career by using found and donated items to create her work.
Bellemare’s entry is a sculpture of a horse made of an old oil tank, strips of metal, wheels and other salvaged components.
“I call it ‘Ayra’, after a man who stopped by my shop. He said, ‘what’s its name?’ I asked him what his was, and after telling me it was Ayra, I started calling it after him.”
Bellemare has been creating art for over 20 years and, like Markov, she only uses recycled items.
“It feels like if you make something with these kinds of materials, you’re giving them a second life. I bring a second life to things that might’ve been sold for scrap or thrown away.”
Bellemare commends Summerside for boosting local artists’ work and while supporting environmental causes.
“It’s nice of the City of Summerside to encourage artists and creators, to give us an opportunity. They give us a push to use our creativity.”
This year’s recycled art saw a newcomer in Glenda Mulholland and her reverse mermaid.
“She’s the first sculpture I’ve made completely out of reused material. I couldn’t even count how many people donated parts, like the jar lids for her scales. I used old stockings filled with bubble-wrap for her legs, just things I had around the house.”
Mulholland didn’t see a mermaid at first, but wanted to give it a try.
“I looked at my materials and saw fish. But instead of a fish, I thought why not switch it up and do a reverse mermaid (fish on top, legs on bottom.)”
Using older materials gives art a certain aesthetic, said Mulholland.
“It’s more interesting using recycled parts. You’re getting more character. It doesn’t look pristine and gives it a distressed feel.”