Harvest Time

I've been learning a new language related to harvesting and pollinating.  Because on Saturday, Gaye and I went to an event called ZeroLandfill.  The pollinating occurs when people in the design community drop off stuff that would normally go to the landfill.  Then the harvesting occurs when people in the arts and education community come and pick out stuff to take home and use.  It's a win-win for everyone!

I was so impressed with the set-up, because it was well organized into categories, with a sign for each room, labeled Binders, Paper, Wallcoverings, Fabric, etc.  There are a lot of flooring and carpet samples, tile, binders that used to be sample books, wallpaper sample books, etc.  I was also very soothed by the musician they had on hand!

I have to admit that everything I saw looked like a book cover to me, so I have a lot of bookbinding ahead of me!  Other things might work well in the nature book I have planned in my head.

Here are a few of the things I brought home.  I don't have pictures of Gaye's stuff but she had a lot of great metal samples.

Samples of faux slate in tag shapes. 

Flooring and veneer samples.

Fabric sample book of reptile designs (I've never seen a purple alligator or pink crocodile in person, but then I haven't been in the swamps lately!)

A couple of binders and a couple of future magazine holders.

These floor samples are labeled Sports Flooring, and are soft and rubbery.  Different thicknesses and colors.

Padded fabric samples and carpet pieces.  They already look like books to me!

I also "harvested" these seeds pods in the parking lot.  The pencil is for perspective, to show how big they were.



If you are in the Louisville Ky area, there are more harvest dates coming up the next two Saturdays.  See the Louisville Facebook page here for more information (you don't have to be on Facebook to see the info and pictures.)

I know there are other similar events around the country.  I tried to find a good link for you to find other locations, but a couple of sites had bad information.  I think the best thing to do if you are looking for one is to do an internet search on Zerolandfill ____ (insert the name of your city).

 

I found a YouTube video of an art teacher in Cleveland talking about how much it helps her classes with their limited budget.  See that here.

 

Go forth and harvest!  Did I mention everything is Free?

 

Edit:  Forgot to mention that you need to bring some tote bags for your goodies.  I brought a rolling cart which worked great - all that wood, metal, and tile gets really heavy really fast.