Artist Statement: While working on my Four Elements series, I kept thinking I wanted a more local and immediate example of plastics that may not necessarily get recycled. The example kept arriving on my doorstep daily in the form of the bright orange plastic bags protecting the Valley News delivery. I save the bags. This was the perfect opportunity to use them to make a point. There are over 150 of those bags in this sculpture. I began braiding the bags three at a time, but didn’t have a clear idea of where that might lead until I thought of the character Pippi Longstocking in the series of books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Just as every material used in my Four Elements series is upcycled, so too are all the materials used in this sculpture: plastic bags, foam core, wood, broken plastic sunglasses, acrylic paint, scarf. The compostable bag and the ECO Hippo bag serve as reminders that there must be a better way. When it all came together, I decided to call it Pippi’s Beach Day as a reminder of all the plastics choking the life of oceans. I have recently learned that the Valley News receives these delivery bags back with the assurance that they will be recycled. Start saving your plastic bags now if you haven’t already done so in an effort to relieve beaches and oceans of some plastic waste. Elizabeth D’Amico February 2023
