CREATIVE campaigners have created some amazing artwork using the plastic and debris they have found on a popular nature reserve.
In September , the Evening Mail's Big Clean campaign followed a group of volunteers, led by Cumbria Wildlife Trust's marine trainee Amy Hopley , as they collected litter from West Shore , South Walney.
After collecting and weighing the litter collected, Amy and her colleagues handed over the litter to The Waste Beneath Our Waves project, an innovative collaboration between Cumbria Wildlife Trust and schools, colleges and community groups across Barrow and the surrounding area.
Artist Ellie Chaney, 31, from Ulverston , helped to build the sculptures alongside youngsters from schools and community groups.
Ellie's artwork has ranged from intricate paper cuts to colossal puppets for carnivals, but she has never before created a six-foot-long jellyfish made entirely out of plastic bottles.
She said: “My art has mostly focused on environmental, ecological issues and I love to work with people who don’t necessarily consider themselves ‘artists’, especially children who are at the start of their art-making.
"This was also a brilliant opportunity to work with Cumbria Wildlife Trust, whose aims and objectives I support.”
Ellie and the children were surprised by the quantities of rubbish and the kinds of things that were washed up. They had everything from balloons, children’s toys, a huge amount of fishing netting and even a diver’s hood. Ellie said: "Even though it was limiting, just using marine litter, it made us more creative and experimental.
"I asked the children what they thought the plastic bottles and bags could be turned in to and they responded with ideas such as a fish, a shark or an octopus.”
The Waste Beneath Our Waves project aims to raise awareness about marine waste. Since beginning the project, Ellie hasn’t bought a drink in a plastic bottle as she now knows just how much damage the waste plastic can do. However, the project also wants to celebrate the wealth of wonderful creatures we have on our doorstep in the Irish Sea.
Amy Hopley loves her job in the midst of all the wildlife at the South Walney reserve, but is deeply worried about the damage that is being done to them by litter on the beaches and in the sea. She said: “Leatherback turtles can swallow plastic bags, thinking they are jellyfish and it is thought that up to 90 per cent of sea birds have plastic bags in their stomachs.
"This is such an important message but we didn’t want to depress people or make them feel guilty; that is why we came up with this project.
"It was designed to be a fun and creative way of making people more aware of these issues. The exhibition will appeal to all ages and visitors will come away with some simple suggestions for how they can make a difference in caring for our marine wildlife.”
The Waste Beneath Our Waves exhibition will be at The Forum in Barrow between January 11-12 2017 and at the Wildman Gallery, Kendal, from January 23-26 with admission free for all.
In addition to the sea creature sculptures, the exhibition will show an engaging video made by 19-year-old filmmaker Giuseppe Abbà. A former film student at Kendal College, Giuseppe, working in partnership with Cumbria Wildlife Trust, has produced a short, thought-provoking film which explores the ideas behind beach cleaning.
Ellie said: “I haven’t seen all the final sculptures yet – I can’t wait.
"It will be an uplifting exhibition as there’ll be some really impressive artworks made by children and community groups in Barrow . There’s a very positive message to take away from this: if we all make small changes, together we can make a big difference.”
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The origin of Ellie's papercutting art
Ellie Chaney, the artist who led all of The Waste Beneath Our Waves workshops, is the founder of 'Stories In Paper' which specialises in the ancient art of papercutting.
Papercutting has been around for thousands of years, and now 31-year-old Ellie is playing her role in its 21st century revival.
Drawing pictures and cutting them into stencils, in its simplest form, has long been a decorative tool for many cultures across the world, but it is only in recent times that it has started to be widely regarded as an art form.
Although she has many interests, Ellie has made papercutting her main medium in recent years, and regularly hosts workshops that help spread the word and share the techniques.
In China, papercutting has a history of more than 1500 years and it represents cultural values of the people throughout China. The art form is thought to have originated in China, where it is known as Jianzhi.
Jianzhi has a number of distinct uses in Chinese culture, almost all of which are for health, prosperity or decorative purposes. Red is the most commonly used color and they often have a heavy emphasis on Chinese characters symbolising the Chinese zodiac animals.
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