So-Cal Solar Blog

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” We’ve all heard it before and by now we’ve found some truth to it. All the non-believers will soon see the truth to that quote. Great things have been constructed from trash and even greater things are to come with the SMART Art Trash into Treasure competition. SMART is allowing submissions for the following forms of art: music, sculpture, photography, video, and functional items.

Art has inspired the world for centuries and now it’ll inspire a greener future. Art is one of the best ways to display innovative ideas. One great form of art is story telling and many stories talked about impossible technology that has become possible today. Harnessing the power of the sun was something ancient cultures only thought their gods could do. We’ve even been able to harness the power of the sun with solar technology. There are movies with sun powered and garbage powered cars which now exist because someone thought it and another person created it. We can do just about anything if we work together. This contest can only bring better things into our world by reusing waste.

Some people can’t imagine creating a masterpiece from waste and old junk. The results from SMART Art competition will show them otherwise. Tons of masterpieces have been created and inspired by waste. For example one of the most popular functional items seen today is the Spiral Island. Spiral Island is constructed of 100,000 plastic bottles, some nets, bamboo, and lots of sand. Rishi Sowa, a British eco pioneer and founder of Spiral Island, even incorporated solar technology to power an oven, waterfall, and pond. Solar goes with you anywhere and Rishi was able to harness the portability that you can only obtain from solar technology.

The ideas are limitless. Solar powering your entire project may even give you an extra edge in the competition. We hope to see a few entries for solar powered instruments, furniture, cameras, and other functional designs in this competition. Solar energy will reduce the need for other means of energy that are toxic for our environment. Imagine the fun that you could create with solar technology and recyclable products. There are designer lamps constructed of PET bottles and led lights. Maybe you could be the next Rishi Sowa and construct an artistic island or large habitable structure?

The winner of this competition will be able to participate in the Plastiki Expedition. The Plastiki is a boat composed entirely of recycled bottles. Its main mission is to inspire the world to rethink their waste. Waste has been recycled into wondrous things such as the Plastiki. The Plastiki has also incorporated solar energy to power their expedition. Most of the onboard electricity will depend entirely on solar power. The solar power used on the expedition will reduce the waste sent back into the environment because it decreases the need for oil and environmentally harmful batteries. This competition will have a positive impact on the environment as people go out pick up trash and turn it into a masterpiece or functional design.

Don’t limit yourself because these days everyone turns everything into junk. Show them it’s not junk. Show them a greener future.

—Additional Info For Those That Want to Enter—

Learn more here.

Deadline for submission is May 1, 2009. Guidelines are here.

Tags: Green Art, greener future, Rishi Sowa, SMART Art Trash Competition, solar electric, solar energy, solar technology, Spiral Island

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 11:18 am and is filed under Green Art, Green Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.