Light Whisperer - The Lighter Side of Repurposed Plastic

Hudson Valley based artist Cassandra Saulter has worked with many mediums throughout her career, and her most recent work has really caught my eye. She's a professional make-up artist by trade, and prolific "painter, designer, inventor, and full time creativity junkie." Her new love is post-consumer plastic. At her recent show Light Whisperer at School of Jellyfish in Beacon, I got the opportunity to see all of her repurposed plastic works and learn more about why she's pursuing plastic.  The medium inspires her with its ability to transmit light, and it's texture presents endless opportunity. Her 48"x48" hanging window piece, Rose Window (below), brings repurposed plastic, blanket wool and various other materials together in a stretcher from a painting she did in 1969.

 

 

Detail of Rose Window

The building and engineering of each piece is exciting for her because she can watch the evolution of the material from milk jug to light fixture, from one functional piece to another. Here are my photos of her fun and functional work with the medium.

Adam. Sticks, plastic, metal spring.

Poppy. Plastic and orange marine line. 

Firefly. Plastic line, bottle pcs, packing material

Orbit. Wreath ring, lights, plastic bottle & tubing. 

Arabella. Plastic bottles & line, vinyl, branch.

Aragorn. Steel base, bottle spouts, LED bulb

Arabella. Detail.

Detail of commissioned lamp.

One of the largest pieces, not pictured here, is Jellyfish. It's made of other works by the artist, deconstructed and repurposed. This includes prototypes for her bag company that makes utility bags for the makeup industry, a shower curtain, a dropcloth, plastic that was cut into strips and used for the performance art piece Petroleum Wing, other group show pieces, and green plastic bottles from Canal Plastics in NYC.

She plans on continuing her work with plastic. She's now working on a life-sized marionette made of repurposed plastic for a show at The Falcon in Marlboro, and is starting to approach plastics manufacturers for sponsorship so she can continue her work on a larger scale. She's also available for commissions, something she loves doing for people.

More photos of the show can be found on Cassandra's facebook fan page, and on the School of Jellyfish photo album.

Artist statement:
"Art was the way I was nurtured into my first form of communication.  A 24"x36" sketchbook on a big wall for a small me. I looked up at in and spoke the language. Art was the reason I had arrived.


The work here, at School of Jellyfish, is the result of an inner conversation about making art in the Aquarian age. My new source material is malleable, it illuminates, and it's everywhere. So I've put down my brushes to commit to more duty toward an environmentally aware approaches to the process. 

It's the beginning of something. It's the beginning of celebrating and popping the cork on my new passion for plastic. The vision is about changing the face, form and function of litter. The desired scope is art, objects,  product, architectural installation as well as workshops and advancing into community and partnership. The mission is to repurpose this mutated yet delightful material. The goal is no less than to change the world one bottle at a time. 

Premiering my new pieces and prototypes at School of Jellyfish is a perfect fit. SOJ is a perfect example of sustainable shamanism and a committment to working for the public good. All a celebration of light. Thank you Lily and Oliver."
xoxo
Cassandra