Five local artists have been selected to make art out of the Portland area’s trash.

GLEAN is an annual art program that taps the creativity of artists to inspire people to think about the waste they generate and the resources they throw away. Artists selected are given license to rummage the piles of Metro Central transfer station for the materials they’ll use to create a body of work that will be exhibited in a local gallery later this year.

A jury of arts and environmental professionals selected the roster of 2019 GLEAN artists from a pool of nearly 120 applicants. This year’s group brings diverse backgrounds and a broad spectrum of disciplines that includes contemporary sculpture, printmaking, painting, metalsmithing, fiber arts and even stop-motion puppet building.

Miel-Margarita Paredes [MFA ’06] is a metalsmith, jewelry maker and stop-motion puppet skeleton builder. She was born in Suva, Fiji and studied metalsmithing at California College of Art and Craft and the University of Wisconsin. She says she incorporates animal figures and traditional ornaments into her metal work as away to interpret the ways humans manipulate the environment to suit our needs.

 

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