Artistic Lessons Emerge Out of Recycled Scrap

Carol Ashley’s Camarillo office is crammed with junk: bins of toilet paper tubes, thousands of scraps of brightly colored paper, boxes of mismatched yarn and any number of industrial doodads.

But for a growing number of teachers around Ventura County, Ashley’s junkyard is a masterpiece in progress. She coordinates Art from Scrap, a nonprofit program that seeks to create art from material that might otherwise have gone to a landfill.

Manufacturers throughout the area donate items that Ventura County teachers can use for science and art projects. Many are happy to participate because it helps them meet stringent new state laws requiring reductions in trash, Ashley said.

Styrofoam meat trays become paint trays for little hands. Toilet paper rolls become decorative dolls. Scraps of colored paper left over from framing pictures are used to create brilliant collages.

Although the center charges teachers for the scraps, in most cases the cost is only pennies.

The idea is not only to reduce waste, Ashley said, but to instill environmental awareness in children.

“When kids see this stuff reused at their school, they are more likely to take those lessons home,” she said.

The program is operated out of 800 square feet of county-supplied warehouse space at the Ventura County Education Services Center at the Camarillo Airport. It has been open since June to teachers countywide, Ashley said.

Schools are also encouraged to take field trips to the warehouse to see how materials are being recycled, she said.

The first Art from Scrap center was opened four years ago in Santa Barbara, said Joanne Hollister, director of the program. Recently, the organization merged with the Community Environmental Council, a nonprofit group aimed at educating the public about recycling and other environmental issues.

The Santa Barbara mart features 3,000 different items in a 5,000-square-foot warehouse, Hollister said. About 11,000 students visited the center last year, she said.

In Ventura County, many teachers are still not aware of the resource, Hollister said. The center has sent out flyers inviting educators to visit.

“We will start with the small site and see how the community wants to support it,” Hollister said.