Artist to Demonstrate Recycling Technique

A Santa Barbara-based environmentalist will demonstrate one approach to recycling Saturday at Soka University of America by creating “organic” paper postcards out of old milk and juice cartons.

In a free demonstration sponsored by the university’s Botanical Research Center and Nursery, Sei Hidaka, an abstract artist, will demonstrate the craft to show how the natural fibers can be used again. Event planners said he also hopes to get participants thinking about how the area’s natural plants can be used in different ways.

“We want people to appreciate native plants,” said Earlyn Mosher, manager of community relations for the university. “If we can show them some special uses of the plant, they will have a special feeling toward it.”

Participants are asked to bring in at least one paper milk or juice carton, soaked in water for 24 hours before the demonstration.

After the fibers are blended, participants will use native plants from the botanical garden to dye and decorate the newly formed paper, which will then be blocked and pressed into postcards. Finally, the finished product will be baked in the sun.

Saturday’s demonstration, one in an occasional series designed to create interest in the research center, is open to children and adults, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. The campus is at 26800 W. Mulholland Highway, Calabasas.

For more information, call (818) 878-3703.