About
This was my first plastic art project from beach trash I collected. I collected the pieces in 2021 and created this plastic ocean scene in the summer of 2023. Some of the items are highly recognizable, like the toothbrush, plastic spoons, and dental pick. There’s even the rolled end of an old latex condom in there (sanitized, of course). Measures 12″ x 12″.
Picking Up Beach Trash
My family and I have always picked up trash at beaches wherever and whenever we get to visit them. In fact, on our honeymoon, my husband helped me clean up tires and other debris from St. Pete Beach in Florida. We dutifully bag up collected trash and put it in a dumpster or covered trash receptacle. We donate items like unbroken beach toys and usable clothing (after cleaning).
We spent a week at the beach in St. Augustine, Florida in October 2021, and as usual, we collected all sorts of trash and plastic pieces. This time, I cleaned and saved some of it for a future art piece.
I Didn’t Keep Every Piece
First, I separated the undesirable, donatable, recyclable, and other miscellaneous items that I didn’t intend to use in my artwork. This included items such as a glass bottle we found in the surf (since glass is fully recyclable) that had living barnacles attached to it:
We carefully removed the barnacles and put them back in the water. I couldn’t leave a glass bottle in the surf for obvious reasons, so we tried our best to save the creatures.
Other items I didn’t keep for artwork included rusty metal cans, recyclable plastic water bottles, complete beach toys (which I donated), and oversized objects. Additionally, there was a large white blanket (which we washed and donated), a crusty hat brim, and a used vape pen (which, though pretty, I threw away due to concerns about leftover chemicals):
Last, I found this unidentifiable gelatinous piece, which I then believed to be plastic but have now discovered that it may have been a washed-up tunicate, colloquially called a ‘sea pork’:1
My Process
While we were still on vacation, I rinsed everything I planned to cart home. In groups, I washed all the pieces thoroughly in dish soap and water and then laid them out to dry:
I began by painting a sea background on a square piece of wood using acrylic paint. Next, I arranged the plastic pieces, starting with the largest ones, and secured them with glue. At first, I didn’t have a clear vision, but as I experimented with the pieces—arranging and rearranging them like a puzzle—a fishing scene gradually emerged. Here’s a progression of the piece:
So we have a fisherperson paddling a boat, hauling ‘sea treasures’ in a net behind them, while a giant fish, a jellyfish, and other sea creatures swim below near a coral reef. Last, I took a soda bottle cap, wrote the title on it, and glued it near the top, as if it represented the sun.
Next
Since this was a small board (12″x12″), I did not use all of the trash pieces, so I’ve saved those for a future art project or teaching project!
My next project was created from items I collected in Duck, North Carolina, in the Outer Banks. Read my article on Plastic Art Project #2!
Feel free to check out my Plastic Art Projects page for other projects that people have done. If you have a plastic trash art piece you’d like to share, please leave me a comment below! Thank you for reading, please share and subscribe!
Copyright © Marie Cullis, 2023, “St. Augustine, Florida 2021” art piece. All photos in this article by Marie Cullis.
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