Conversations with Repurposer Collective members. Part 1.

What happens when 24 artists say yes to a shared prompt… and trust the current? 🌊

This episode of Salvage kicks off a special multi-part series about Currents of Connection — a 32-foot collaborative artwork stitched, collaged, painted, and assembled by members of the Repurposer Collective.

We talk about:
 • receiving a single block and trusting the whole
 • working with limits, deadlines, and doubt
 • plastic, paper, fabric, dryer sheets, and “trash” as material
 • collaboration as both method and message

Every stitch feeds the wave.
 Every voice matters.
 Just like water itself.

🎧 Listen to Part 1 wherever you get your podcasts
 📺 Full visual episode on YouTube (trust me — this one’s worth seeing)

https://www.repurposercollective.com/

https://www.repurposercollective.com/currents-of-connection

Cathy Mitchell https://www.instagram.com/old_doxie

Sharon Williams https://www.instagram.com/williamssharoneco

Ellen November http://ellennovember.com https://www.instagram.com/ellennovemberfiberart 

Ana Szilagyi http://www.anaszilagyi.com/ https://www.instagram.com/anaszilagyi

Marsha Borden http://www.marshaborden.com https://www.instagram.com/marshamakes

This podcast was created by Natalya Khorover. It was produced and recorded by Natalya, as well as researched and edited by her. SALVAGE is a product of ECOLOOP.ART.

If you enjoy this show, please rate and review us wherever you’re listening—and be sure to come back for another conversation with a repurposed media artist.

Music theme by RC Guida

Visit Natalya’s website at www.artbynatalya.com

Visit Natalya’s community at www.repurposercollective.com

Visit Natalya’s workshops at https://www.ecoloop.art/

Transcript

Welcome to Salvage, a podcast for conversations with artists about the repurposed materials they use in their art practice.

Welcome to another episode of Salvage. This one is going to be a little bit different. I am interviewing members of the Repurposer Collective here, just a few members at a time. Let me give you a little backstory.

In October of 2025, the Repurposer Collective members participated in a collaborative project. We stitched together, well, stitched, drew, collaged, and all sorts of other techniques.

A gigantic 32ft long artwork.

It is called Currents of Connection

In a culture that prizes self-reliance, Currents of Connection invites us to remember the elemental force that binds every life on earth. Water from the amniotic seas, within our bodies, to the tides that sculpt our coastlines.

Water links us across distances, languages and circumstances. This multidisciplinary project layers NASA and Britannia ocean current maps with personal photographs of clouds and waves, weaving scientific data and lived experience into a single fluid tapestry that recognizes both the fragility and the resilience of our shared waters, melting ice and rising seas sit besides visions of renewal - cleanup crews, community science and climate solutions already at work by foregrounding water as our ultimate connector.

This work reframes unity as an ecological imperative rather than a sentimental ideal. Collaboration here is not merely a method, but a message itself. Each participant's gesture, each scrap of fabric, bit of plastic, tear of paper, stitch or stroke will flow into a collective surface. Just as every stream feeds the ocean. Together, we map possibility, a future in which humanity chooses stewardship over extraction, synergy over isolation and, like water itself, finds strength in perpetual movement and mutual embrace.

Affectionately, we've been calling this artwork The Wave because there is a big wave as part of it. You can see the images of this artwork and the images of other artworks that were part of the exhibit at RepurposerCollective.com. I will put the link in the show notes.

I wanted to interview the members who participated in this collaborative project, so that I can share what went into making this collaborative project. I interviewed 17 out of the 24 participating members, which is a pretty good number, giving everyone schedules. And originally, I thought that I would just splice all these interviews together into one episode and just have snippets of things

But I couldn't do that.

I tried, but there was so much juicy information in everyone's interview. I asked for their motivation in joining a collaborative project. I asked what they thought when they received their blocks.

I asked them about their techniques,

I could not make it all into one episode.

So what you're going to get is several episodes with several members each.

Welcome to the first part of talking about the Currents of Connection.

Today I'm interviewing five members to get you started. I hope you will enjoy their stories, the techniques they've discussed,

And if you're watching the YouTube video, you will see the visuals of their actual artworks on the screen as well. So maybe if you're only an audio listener, today would be a good day for you to check out my YouTube channel and see the podcast in visual.

Please welcome my first guest, Cathy Mitchell.

thank you, Cathy, for meeting me here to chat about this. I appreciate it.

I would love to know what convinced you to participate in our collaborative project?

I think I've seen them before.

Like I've had other quilting friends who've done them, and they always just seemed so interesting. Like just the combination from one, from one piece to the next. I think it's just like, okay, is this going to work? And and they always look so interesting. Everybody's interpretation of the exact same photo and how it happens.

And on our piece, it was amazing.

Like it was amazing that some of the techniques people use and some of the colors people use, some use exactly like the color in the photo and others. But rogue and they went, let's do I'm due to what I got. Yeah. So yeah.

And I probably would have went, totally different colors if I hadn't had all of those things already in my collection.

Right.

the background of the one piece is a piece of blue linen that I had done, and I'm like, oh, I will just one day this will come to fruition of what it's supposed to be. Yeah. And I ended up the background of one of the pieces, so. Yeah. Yeah,

So you did two a blocks. Shall, we'll call them. Yeah. And they were fairly good sized blocks. What was your first thought when you got them from me?

I looked at them both and I went, wow, we're going to do the big one first to see what see there. We can handle this one.

And it should be far longer than I thought it was going to because I was really trying to make it really quite perfect to the photo. And I did. So I was trying to like get it precise. second one, I probably am not so precise on it, but I had more ice and snow in second one

So it was, it was the easier of the two. So I did that more difficult one first.

because I thought I had then I had time ahead of me. I don't even know how long do we have ahead of it? I don't remember with two months.

It was like a month. And a half, I think.

I had, but, like, I printed the both off and I taped them all together and I went, Holy smokes, what have I got myself into? And then you had said, if you think it's too much or whatever, let me know. And I'm like, no, I'm still going to do this because,

What techniques did you use to construct your blocks?

mine are all free motion quilting. Like free motion. Free motion sewing. I find I'm the most comfortable with that. Some of it was pretty tricky. I combined fabric and plastics of sorts.

So then, I just gathered and sewed and gathered and sewed and sometimes I actually my currents, I put on a background piece to see whether it was going to work. So I did like, a shopping bag. So the current on and then I had the shopping bag kind of around my it was almost like I was doing an embroidery.

Almost. Oh, and then I put the embroidery that I sew that piece on to the main background, because it was more manageable because my piece was quite big. My first piece, it was probably,

It was four feet for sure, and maybe two feet wide.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was quite so. It's hard on a domestic machine to maneuver. So that's why I did them on the small, like shopping bags. And then I cut it. Then I applied it. Applicator on to the big background piece.

you think that you learned anything while creating your two blocks?

What do you think?

Well, I'm always learning when I'm working with plastic. I think you always learn like it just because they're not all the same.

even just cutting it and getting it so it's not too bulky. That was the other thing. I was trying not to make it too bulky. Right. To ship it.

I learned a lot just to maneuver it and trust myself, like, trust the flow of it.

you didn't you didn't see you're a little too far away. You couldn't see the finished product in person.

But videos and reels and pictures. What do you think. How did it turn out. It was very impressive. It just seemed to be that long, like and have that many people put that effort into it. Because you knew how much time you put into yours like that, that took commitment from everybody and get it there to you. I tried to get mine in on time.

Wow. Well, we had that tariff issue with you or so. Yeah, I was very sad. But anyway, I was glad it made it. Yeah it did.

It's always heartwarming to see your work, especially gathered with somebody else's, that you have something in common and that you, all have that desire to do that.

And it looked I thought it looked great.

And it's really interesting what you can use to make something like. Yeah, I don't know, I used all kinds of stuff on that big piece like linen and linen I had dyed with tumeric and. Oh, chip bags. Lindor chocolate wrappers, that kind of thing.

yeah. No, all that trash becomes. Yeah, yeah,

So I have people text me regularly and they hold up their phone, they send me a picture on their phone and they say, do you want this plastic?

And it's pretty fits pretty I say yes, yeah,

Or if it's a really good color that I don't have, I'm like, yeah, I'll take that color or I don't get that color very often.

Yeah, yeah, yeah

thank you for being here

And now, please welcome Sharon Williams.

Well, thank you, Sharon, for meeting me here. So I would love to know what convinced you to join our collaborative project.

But I wanted to do it because I was just gonna. I was just trying to give myself a challenge. And have a beginning, a middle and an end. Because sometimes I feel like with my, what I do with my art, I never feel like I'm done with it.

And that way it gave me a set time period. And then I had to go through a process. Like you were teaching me a process. So I didn't. I

Do you remember when I sent you your block? What were your first thoughts? My first thoughts were. I don't think I realized how big it was. I was like, oh. And then I realized, oh, my God, this is how big this was.

I hope I can finish, I hope I can finish. And that and, and and you were asking. You were saying that people had already gotten stuff in, and I was like, oh my God, I'm never gonna get done. What time did it? You did do it. You did.

What techniques did you use in creating your block? Well, first thing I did was I bought a big latch hook kit background. Because I thought it would be easier to to manipulate. And I've done large latch hook kits before, but I had never done it in such a way, I it made me realize just how mechanical latch hooking is, because you get everything pre done for you in this.

I had to actually measure it and then do it, you know. So it made me appreciate just how mechanical this thing of latch hooking is. But I knew I wasn't going to be able to latch with the whole thing, but I wanted to have different, techniques and different textures. So I got a large oversize, needle, and I just started taking that green stuff, green yarn.

And I was, you know, using that, for some of the, the waves. And I was, the very last day was just like a whirlwind because I was doing I had a lot to do, and, but and I took the day off. But I was I was willing to do that because this was important to me.

And. Okay, I put and then I covered. I did put some fabric on the one really large side, which was all mostly blue gray. And I was kind of painting a little bit. And then, I don't know if you noticed, it is that I started painting it and it actually brought up the little, squares from behind.

Oh, okay. I didn't realize that. And then that was just an accident. I was it made some marks. And then I was, I was also using, I used handi wipes, I used yarn, I used I cut up things you never using latch hooking like I had these, garbage bags. I cut those up and turned those into little yarns.

And then I just come up with a lot of. I have a lot of excess because I was afraid it was going to be too thick. So it was like cutting it. I was trying to cut it, slow it sometimes with the plastic, you have to cut it exactly right because it'll, it'll, it does work. Yeah, yeah. But you have to have it exactly right.

Because it'll break. Yes. Yeah, yeah it'll break. But if you have it in that small, if you do it small, it will work. And I did do some, you know, I tried different things. So, so it was like, like, I think, like, if I did food packaging, I can't think of those if I looked at it again like it's no, food packaging.

The they had these, like I said, the compostable, I told you about the compostable, shape. Yeah. Garbage bags, which really aren’t compostable. Really. They are, but they aren't. Yeah. And then, I did take just a cover at the very end. I was using, some a pillowcase. I had, so I, I actually sewed on a pillow case.

Oh, okay. Cool. You know, would you do anything differently if you had to do it over? Oh.

What I what would I do differently? I wouldn't be so, I don't know, I think I would,

Use a, I would probably use a sewing machine or something, or I would, maybe incorporate some more. I didn't realize, I could incorporate paper, but I could have and I could have done that. What else? I, I, I just, I just felt like it was, I was, I was trying I mean, when I got into the rhythm of it, it felt good.

You know, kind of it was kind of meditative doing that. But it was also fun doing the, the sort of sewing I was just doing kind of random sewing, I wasn't. I still have to learn your stitching methods. I'm still trying to find the time to do the stitching and things. Yeah. Because I was a little afraid to do that on a such a big piece, but I could have just.

Yeah, maybe next time. Next time. Yeah. So you actually traveled really far and I. Yes, I did say that to come and see the exhibition in person. What do you think? How did it turn out? Oh, I thought in front of. Really? Well, I'm sorry that some of the people got tariffed. Yeah. Well, it's okay. They still made it.

It's all good. They still made it. Yeah. Oh, the. Did you ever receive them? Yeah. Yeah, yeah I did, you did? Yes. Fantastic. Okay, great. But I think that that those pieces of paper are historical because it dates it, you know, it kind of dates the piece. Yes. Well, I have pictures. Yeah. But, I think that would be for people to know, you know, in 2025, what was what was going on at that time.

Yeah, that some people had a hard time getting it, getting art was having a hard time getting through. Yes. And that connection, but I was I was amazed by all the different art, the types of. I was even surprised about somebody actually colored, you know, just used crayon. Yes. Like. That's right. That was just kind of paper.

That was interesting. I didn't that I mean, sometimes to me I was look at I was like, oh, she made it so simple. Yeah. But that's a good thing. Yeah. I just make it harder sometimes. You know, there's a lot of people who made things very complicated. And then there was also people who made it very, very simple.

And I loved the the dichotomy of that. Yeah, that's a good thing. Yeah. That's a good thing. Yeah. So I'm like, I'm just I was just doing what I wanted to do. And there's no comparison. It's just somebody had one idea and I had a totally different idea.

So if I was to dream up another collaborative project, would you be up for it? Yeah. Awesome. Yeah, I would, yeah, it'll be fun.

And now please welcome Ellen November.

thank you for taking the time to zoom with me.

What convinced you to join our collaborative project?

I love an assignment. I was trained as an illustrator, so I love an assignment. I love a deadline. I like, prompts and I it was something I knew I could do.

So you made three blocks, but first you received one block. What were your first thoughts when you received that email for me with your first block.

it seemed a little daunting. It was so abstract.

But then, I like to. problem solve. So, I use this, software, web based tool called re sizer basically you load a jpeg and then you tell it how wide it what you want it to be, and then it breaks it up into eight and a half by 11 pieces that you can print out. Oh, cool.

So then I taped those together and I was really brainstorming, how am I going to do this?

And then I'm there. Oh, I know I have this cellophane, the type that you would use to wrap a gift basket.

On a roll. And so I just laid that over printout and started painting. Perfect. So, so it was a great exercise because it was a lot of steps to figuring out the execution.

I think you used different techniques on all the three pieces that you created. Could you tell me a little more about the techniques you used.

Yes I think there was fabric underneath. And then I laid the cellophane over and then painted on that and then I think there was stitching involved in that.

So. Yeah. So stitching painting and fabric. Piecing.

And I think one of the pieces might have been paper.

Yes I could have ripped paper because the shapes were so abstract. Yeah.

So do you think you learned anything while making your three pieces it's all about problem solving. You know, I mean, I think it my brain gears, it gets the gears rolling and really thinking outside the box, which is good for any artist.

So, unfortunately, you never got to see the project completed in person. Right. But you've seen videos and photographs. What do you think? How do you think it turned out?

Oh, I really like it. I like the concept.

And I admire your leadership and organizational skills. I can only imagine, you know, and dividing it up into projects and, Yeah. Super abstract. kudos to you.

Was you participated in another one? If I had another harebrained idea. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Awesome. And because I already have a harebrained idea. Oh, good. I can't wait.

And now please welcome Ana Szilagyi, whom I've known for many years and whose last name I still manage to murder. Sorry, Ana.

Thank you, Ana, for joining me. My pleasure. I love being here. It's special. Yeah.

What convinced you to join in on the project? You. I feel like sometimes I'm not of the same, let's say level of status there, because I'm very different. My art level is different because I work with portraits, and I try, in my more not my client work, but my own work to, use things like plastics because then, you know about this, and I like to be creative with that.

That was a different one. Normally, I shot people with plastic. That one was for me to do. Something was very different than I thought I. I was used to. But I like the challenge. So I said okay I'm going to try to make something and keep it mine. First I said no I'm not doing this.

But you know because the product is very interesting. I said how everybody like is so different. And how will this come together. So it is more of a creativity and also like curiosity than anything else.

So what were your first thoughts when you received your block? I cannot do this. Now was, I didn't understand, right?

I said, okay, the thing is, how will this again be mine? Make this mine. But then when I got this, I thought more of a blank canvas. I saw this for so very different. And it's. I don't know, I think I can work with this.

the thing that it looks so easy, like the image was, like, blurred, that that was the thing that said, okay, I can make this mine.

But it was a mix of very hard and blank canvas and okay, let's try to do this.

And what techniques did you use to construct your block. And you definitely made it yours. So what did you do? I wanted to incorporate portraits. So I said, okay, there's a time for learning and learning more about people that can inspire me and other people.

So, first I went on, I search of people that have impact in environmental things, but not only, like the activists, because this is someone that I think I'm not, but I put something there. So maybe they have something for me to get this inspired. But then I looked for artists. I look for women, I look for indigenous people, I look for Brazilian people as I'm Brazilian.

They have circumstances. There. So I went to different, professions and type of activists that I think we need. Like, you don't need just one type of, person doing something. Absolutely. Yeah. So I got a big list of different things, people and I went through their history like the briefly not die, but kind of I went.

The more I researched, the more I want to read. Of course. Of course. So the ones that spoke more to me, I said the you were getting I wish I could put more, but the size that I did, things I couldn't. And then I decide how we're going to print the photos. And I learned from you the dryer sheet, into the printer.

And I love that one because it's so fainty. Like, I read about all the things they done. And sometimes I was getting everything to say, oh, what did you do? And then I think that that transparent and it looks like frail was perfect. And also the idea that, when I, I did the layering with plastic, then I did more like, thread painting because I love doing that.

It's like, my mind goes and thinking of things that I'm doing that. Yes. And I went around the image of the people there and they are the land like the more base because they have a land part and also water. But the water, there's no one there. There's one lady that Sylvie. I forgot her last name. She's close to water because she deals more with water.

And then the first that people did more recently. And I put them towards the other side. And what I liked is the there's no he sits over their heads and while was doing it, it was already like fraying. And I like that idea that we forget about people and we need to go and look for things and inspiration.

And then I of okay, would you do anything differently if you had to do the same block over? I wish I had way more time because I want their names there. And I have like, okay, I want to do very meticulous work to have their name small, but it has all their names that and at first I had the planners also putting and I have the images of all the members in our community also because we feel small doing things.

So I wish I could have time and even a bigger piece so I could put other people there together, like people that we don't know. And sometimes we feel that we don't matter doing little things, but the little you do, it's very impactful. So I wish to make this big, bigger people, okay, lower. You know what I mean?

Well, maybe you'll get another chance. We'll see.

So you are one of the few people who did get to see the finished collaborative project in person. Yes. What did you think? How did it turn out? Oh, wonderful. I was so surprised. Like I photographed. So when I was editing the photos, I could see even more details.

Of how things connected without anyone seeing each other in so big. And the image you interpreted like different from other people. But there are so many things that aligned is literally like aligned together like a puzzle and some other things like the colors and materials was so nice. But also in the middle there's some very different ones when you look like from afar, and you can what it is and then you kind of come closer.

So okay, they are all together. It's bigger than I thought it was also. And I was, as expected, everything. But when it did for me, it was felt bigger. And I love, like, everything that people can put together without even being there. Like we are all the same. Yeah. In a different way. Yeah, absolutely,

So would you participate in another collaborative project?

Yes, yes. Yeah. One thing that it made me see is that at the same time when he, it always started, I was of course, very busy. Right now it's things like in my mind that you never busy, but I found the time like I got the time. Okay. Yeah. I'll do this. And what's very good for me, was not in a rush, like, oh, my God, the deadlines come.

No, I set up a, small time, like, ever weeks, and I. This is my day. And I was doing it, and it was okay. And it was very fun. Good.

Yeah. Thank you for inviting me and push me to do this thing that I think I could not do, but I can do. It was very, very fun. Yeah, I think it's good this year. Things push us to things that we don't know that we need to. And that was very nice for me.

And now, please welcome Marsha Borden.

thank you for agreeing to do this. You're welcome. Me about this. Thanks for having me. Of course.

What convinced you to participate in our collaborative project?

convince me is that I was a sort of a brand new member of the Repurposer Collective, and I think, like, 3 or 4 months in, and I think my, my initial thought was, I have so much going on like everyone else. It's not hitting at a perfect time with other shows I have. But then I thought, it's never going to change and that's a good thing. Like we're all so busy, like all the time, and if you don't kind of jump in and take an opportunity, then you're going to kind of wish that you did.

You know, after the fact. And I think what pushed it over the edge for me is just having the chance to get a little bit deeper connected to the people within the repair purpose, our collective, and find out just a little bit more of what it could be all about. And I think,

it's kind of scary to kind of jump into a collaborative, when you don't really know exactly kind of the people or what the experience might be like.

But, you know, it's it's been rewarding and it's been great. So I'm glad I took the chance. I'm so glad to hear that

What? Like when you received your block, your name? What were your first thoughts when you opened up that email?

I think my first thought was, how is this going to work?

You know, you see the piece, and then you're sort of given one little tiny block. And, I think it took a while for me to kind of realize that this is something that I could do. And, I also thought a lot about and this has been true for other projects, that when you're given constraints in any kind of project, right, like when you're told it has to be a certain size and when you're told it, you have to use certain materials.

While at first it can be sort of offputting and scary, then you realize that's where the creativity begins. That's when you really being forced to, narrow in your methods and your procedures and your thought process, like that's where things can get really exciting. The first I felt very like, I don't know if I can do this. And then after days went by, I thought, I can do this.

Yeah. Yeah. I agree with you. Limitations are really a great boost to creativity.

You know, whether you're limiting your materials or you're limited to size or whatever it is, a limitation is a great exercise. Yes. And also deadlines and timelines. Right. As much as we kind of push back on those, really, if we had all the time in the world and all the space, you know, maybe to create it, we would never get anything done.

Right? Right. So in the end, it's a good thing to to have those outside constraints put on you really helps the creative process. Yeah, yeah. I wouldn't want to be doing it all the time like that, but agreeing to do projects like that.

So what techniques did you use to construct your block?

initially in the very initial discussions when we were all having our monthly zoom chats and things, I had a very specific idea in mind about what I wanted to do, and that was to crochet a three dimensional kind of object within the constraints of the block using, plastic soft plastic yarn.

So cutting up just any plastic bag that sort of met the color requirements and making a ball of it, and then using it like yarn. That was really my initial impulse. However, then when I looked at the images and I thought about some of the other, constraints, like getting it into a nine, I think it was a nine by 12 envelope and sort of folding it up and, the flattening of it.

And, and so I thought about that, and I thought about how that would maybe esthetically fit into maybe what other people were doing. And it maybe other people's might not have that much dimension. I sort of backed off of that idea, I think, which was okay, because like crochet for me and doing freeform three dimensional objects like that, I'm doing all of that stuff all the time anyway.

So I thought this would be a chance to kind of move away from that and try something else with the soft plastic, because I knew that I definitely wanted to use soft plastic and get into more like stitching and layering, more of like a collage effect, which I'm not a collage artist. I don't do a lot with, with those kind of techniques.

So I thought, what the heck, this is a chance to try something new.

Well, I'm so glad you did. I have to say that I was expecting a crochet project when I opened up. Okay. I was, because that's what you do. So, yeah, I was expecting it, But I can't, you know, it's not like I was displeased or anything.

I was still like it. I like what I receive, but I was just surprised that it wasn't crochet.

how would you do anything differently if you were to do it again?

Yeah, that's a really good question. I think probably just one thing I would do differently. And that is I would add some hand stitch really.

That was kind of what I wanted to do. I have this idea, sort of my process where I was going to have the background meld, some soft plastic to kind of collage onto that, cut out the pieces in the shape of, you know, the edge of the cotton. And I have a picture right here, or the ocean piece, like, cut those out and align them to kind of the image of, of my block, and then connect them all through hand stitch that, that really kind of my process and starting out with a background and then layering and then it's really cool when you melt plastic, right?

I'm sure you've done like, tons of it because you never know you're going, oh, I don't melt plastic. Okay, well you should and you will now. And scary. No, you will sometime you have to work in a well sort of ventilated area obviously. Yeah. And then you have to protect your surface. And I just use a good old fashioned iron.

That, of course, is only used for craft purposes. Although I don't iron my clothes. In any case, you know, I cannot separate one through convention, but, Yeah. And then you just you're using the parchment paper, beneath the surface and on top of the surface, and then you're just using very quick strokes with the iron because you don't want to over melt.

You don't want holes. That's not the goal. The goal is to create dimension and texture. Right. And because soft plastic probably has certain percentages of whatever the polymers are in it. Right. And any, any surface, it's it's never each piece is never going to, you know, melt or change. Exactly the same way. So it it gets kind of you get kind of obsessed with it.

I think. And I ended up one afternoon, I must have had a pile like this high or something. And then, okay, you've gone too far. Stop. You have enough material. All you need to start creating, you know, the shape and image of what you're supposed to be doing.

And then after that, I was using, like, straight pins because I had layered it, and I had a piece of cardboard underneath it, and so I could push in that pin and place maybe one of my little cutout melted pieces, but I didn't like it there.

I could pick it up and move it someplace else. I didn't want things shifting around. So when I pretty much had everything I needed where where I wanted it to be, then I used, it's hot glue. Not thinking of the chemical name of that thermoplastic polymer is what it's called.

To, to kind of just tack it down lightly and then like, and procedure was going to be to hand stitch everything.

And so, so I think getting back to what you said about like, if you had would do something differently, I think, I don't know. I mean, I think I would have maybe allotted a little bit more time to kind of add in the hand stitch. And I think I would have maybe not made the layers so thick.

I was wanting to kind of attempt the hand stitch, but my concern was with a piece that was large. It felt, you know, very large to me that if I committed to it and then didn't have enough time to do the whole thing, that it would look kind of odd. You know, if I can't understand that.

Yeah. So I, I kind of supplemented with some oil paint pens, but where I put sort of the white swirly ocean, in, and so definitely I would have liked to add some stitch to that and it didn't happen. But yeah. So, I mean, I think in the end I was happy with, with the result, you know, knowing that using these materials that I use a lot, I use a lot of soft plastic, you know, in different ways, but I've never quite tried it in this way.

So it was kind of an interesting process. kind of wish I was over your shoulder to see you melting it. I just, I hate to bring this up, but I just know that plastic is made from so many chemicals and so many of them are unregulated. And that is exactly what scares me about melting it.

And I know that at some low heat levels, it's not the supposedly not releasing those chemicals, but it still just scares me. So. But yeah, I mean, I think that's a legitimate concern. Italian. I do think you have to be careful, but I guess my my point to have you considered would be melting. It does put it at a point where you're adding more klaxons to the environment, but just in handling the plastic bags, toxins are being released.

Yeah. And so I think everything is a trade off, right? Like using the waste materials to increase awareness of what is what is we're living with every single day. I feel like sometimes you have to kind of get a little bit more skin in the game and risk releasing a toxin when hopefully the end result is people can kind of take a step back and say, oh, this is kind of like beautiful, but why or why are we admiring the plastic?

Or maybe we should be admiring the plastic because it is going to force us to, you know, maybe do something about it. Right. Exactly. So, so I think there's a number of different ways to look at it, but but I think, I think you should try it. Okay.

we'll see, we'll see. you're actually one of a small group of people that got to see the finished project in person.

So what do you think? How did it turn out?

I was so happy to have made the trip up to New New Paltz that day. It was a beautiful day. And, you know, it's really hard. So much of our lives, I feel like our lived online. And there's always this distance. And when you're in an art show, like if you're in an art show in California, you can't get there, right?

So you're trying to sort of look at things and little tiny screens and stuff. And so, so I really was glad that I had the opportunity to do that. I think it was kind of overwhelming in a way, because when, when you live with any art, our work that you're doing and you spend so much time looking at it and working on it, and then when you release it out into the world, you forget that it's in this case in particular, right?

It was it was made to be part of a larger piece of artwork. And so when you have the chance to look and see how everybody else interpreted essentially the same prompt, right? I mean, yes, there were everybody had a different sized block. And, slightly different imagery depending on where slightly different imagery. But but everyone pretty much how to, how to interpret and produce what they thought would be, something to fit into the larger whole.

Right. So I think it was very, instructive and, and overall might be a strong word, but I was so focused on what I thought

I would interpret it as. But when I saw what everybody else did, I was like, oh, wow. Like they made that shape with fabric and oh, they, they kind of turned the corner on this stitch a little in this little different way.

And, and the colors that, that came out of that, you know, I was sort of focused on brown and blue. I saw the whites and the there were some oranges, I think, in the yellows.

And so I would just kind of fascinated to kind of walk along this wall of all of these

things that were connected together and just really see from, from beginning to end, knowing that it all started out as an image on the computer, right?

Like me. That was really fascinating.

So would you, participate in another collaborative project if it came along? I, I think I would, I think, I think I would try to, like, devote a little bit more time, you know, to the actual production of, of the piece.

And I, I would be interested to see like what, what the next one could be, I am thinking about it. I think it's going to be different and smaller, but I haven't quite figured out

what exactly it's going to be and how it's going to work. So stay tuned.

How about for you. And I tell you like, I don't know how many collaborations like this you've done, but but kind of now that it's finished and you're sort of looking back at it, is there anything that you feel like you would like different prompts for the artist or different like instructions or ways of of being or the theme of the project?

I'm just curious.

I think that I may have chosen a slightly different image. I think I would choose a less abstract image next time, something a little more, clear. Maybe. I'm not sure. Maybe I would do it a little bit smaller. Yeah. But I just, you know, I just.

I went with ambition. I really wanted to fill those two walls in that space, and I, you know,

I wanted to see how big we can go.

yeah, maybe I would go with a simpler image if I did next time. Yeah, of course,

piece that I'm thinking for the next collaboration is all words, which is probably why I can't quite figure out how to do this yet. That sounds really fascinating. Yeah. So really exciting. Now, I think to your point about

working large, there's something I think really visually arresting about having really large stuff.

It's kind of like the extremes, like the really large stuff and like the really tiny stuff is really interesting. And I'm a fiber artist, so a lot of the things just are small, right? The stitching and the things that you do, and I've sort of learned over time that those get like some attention, like people are sort of interested in that.

But if you can take a traditional handcraft like knitting, crochet or embroidery and make it really big, it there's something really just very arresting about that. Intimately. Yeah. People out of like, what is this? It's embroidery floss. Like how did you do that or the yarn?

maybe while you wouldn't do it the same way again, you kind of medical in that you, you ended up with this large thing.

Yeah. But now I just need a new place to exhibit it. I know, and I, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that that works out.

it would be wouldn't it be amazing if you know in a few years we had several collaborative projects and that made up some amazing exhibit.

I think that people that would be really cool. Now this is the first collaborative one like that that you've done with the first one. Yeah.

go big or go home is what I thought that you're right. And it could only get different and more interesting and better from here. Right. There's always a first project.

Yeah. So like so good.

Well thank you so much Marsha

I hope you've enjoyed those conversations.

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This podcast was created, produced and edited by me, Natalya Khorover. Theme music by RC Guida. To find out more about me, go to Art by Natalya.com, to find out about my community go to RepurposerCollective.com and to learn with me check out all my offerings at EcoLoop.Art. Thank you for listening.