Ocean Tears

I create art out of plastic trash, painting on bottles, food containers and other plastic waste. My project titled ‘Ocean Tears’ is a plea to the world, from the spirits of the oceans and waterways, to save the planet and speak out against plastics pollution, which threatens the global ecosystem. The art installation consists of painted plastic, and my own freeform doodles as a form of meditation, during which I focus on mindfulness about our planet’s waters.

My art cannot reverse the environmental damage. At least 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year and makeup 80% of all marine debris from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. Marine species ingest or are entangled by plastic debris, which causes severe injuries and deaths. Plastic food containers shed huge numbers of tiny specks — called microplastics — into hot water. Scientists have seen microplastics everywhere. This coupled, with the global threat of environmental warming and deforestation, is an urgent catastrophe. The installation speaks as the voice of the soul of our rivers and oceans, including a tapestry about the threatened Louisiana Atchafalaya Basin bayou, the largest wetland forest in North America.