About the EnviroHouse
                 What makes it green
                 Resource list
                 What / Why / How to go green
                 Credits
                 Photos
                                                                          Art

EnviroHouse Art
In addition to more than 150 permanent green products, the EnviroHouse features an ongoing, rotating art exhibit by local artists who use existing or "found" materials in their work. The EnviroHouse continually seeks submissions from artists with recycled-content artwork. Call for Art documents (PDFs): Art Submission Guidelines/Selection Process, Description of Images, Artist Statement/Bio, Hold Harmless Agreement.

EXHIBIT: Now through July 31
Work from artists Sondra Shira, BFA and Danella Sydow, MFA make up the current art installation at the EnviroHouse, where artwork made from more than 95 percent salvaged material is showcased.

ARTISTS’ RECEPTION
Shira and Sydow will be available during the artists’ reception from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 13 at the City of Tacoma EnviroHouse (located at the Tacoma Landfill), 3510 S. Mullen St.

Sondra Shira, BFA 

Phone: (425) 227-9489
E-mail: shirasart@yahoo.com

Artist’s Statement
Wonder and the respect for nature has been an ongoing inspiration for my art that I continue to communicate through painting and sculpture. Since I was seven, making art has always been a part of my life. My art is about life – how reality and illusion coexist. I am fascinated with opposites and how they intermingle with one another, the spiritual and material aspects of cultures. While some of my works are representational, others are more abstract - taking traditional imagery and presenting them in non-traditional ways. Through this visual language, I explore the dichotomies, ambiguities and similarities of relationships in nature and cultures. I hope my art will cause the viewers to question their own perceptions of life.

Paintings
These paintings are my homage to a belief in the mysterious and glorious connection that inhabits all of nature’s being, human and other. Transmogrification is when the soul of one being enters the soul or coexists with another being’s soul. It is beyond mere anthropomorphism. I call this a ‘Sacred Relationship‘.

Phoenix Pole Sculptures
Like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, these “up-cycled,” elegant sculptures are constructed from recycled materials, experiencing a new life. Tall and narrow, the metal, stone and glass pieces are sprayed or hand-painted with metal paint, providing colorful accents for the garden. The interior pieces have some wood parts that have been hand painted with acrylic paint. They are striking as an entry or accent piece for homes and offices.

Biography
I’ve always had two interests; art has been the expression and science the inspiration. Nature and art have a natural connection. My formal artistic expressions began when I was 7 years old with a clay class at the Chicago Art Institute. Ironically, 50 years later my last class at the University of Washington was a sculpture class. But for years my sole expression was painting. I love color, but at times I wanted to get around the 2-dimensionality of the paper. I began to paint furniture using it as my canvas and later stone carving gave me some real 3D experience… but I was frustrated not being able to add color. Through clay, and eventually the recycled materials I use in the ‘Phoenix Poles,’ I was able to sculpt and paint!

I believe growing up during WWII when so much was reused for the war effort had a great influence on the way I rebirth materials for art. I don’t like to waste anything that can possibly be used again even if in another form. Actually, I find reinventing a new use for something is very satisfying and stimulating.

Danella Sydow, MFA

Phone: (253) 564-7278
E-mail: danellasydrow@msn.com
Web: http://danellasydow.wordpress.com

Artist’s Statement
My creative process is instinctive and spontaneous.  The approach has its roots in my childhood.  During my youth, I experimented with different ways of building things. Since I had no conventional tools to use, I frequently employed alternative techniques to create art. Instead of using nails and glue, I took advantage of my mother’s sewing materials and yarn to put objects together.

Because of my childhood experiences living near the Black Hills of Washington state, many of my pieces are referential to the natural world. My relief paintings allude to terrestrial forms such as rock formations, hills, mountains, and valleys. The sculptures encompass geometric shapes that are seen as the basic building blocks of Nature.

My works of art are a series of moments held together by a singular emotion: my reverence for Nature. As an artist, I transform my childhood memories of Nature into aesthetically creative and imaginary forms. I pick out certain elements of Nature that I have a visceral reaction to. I recreate these natural forms into something that I envision them to be, my moments.

I believe my works of art reflect natural elements. I am interested in the ongoing cycle of Nature.  The fact that Nature has the capacity to renew itself has always fascinated me.  Most of my pieces represent the later stages of a life cycle. They allude to things in Nature that are eroding and before an expectant rebirth.

Biography
I was born and raised near the Black Hills outside of the capitol city of Olympia in the 1970s.  As a child I developed a keen appreciation for the environment.  After graduating with honors from the University of Washington School of Art, I went on to graduate school and received a Master of Fine Arts degree from Washington State University. 

My work, using recycled and found objects, has been included in exhibitions throughout the Pacific Northwest, and has been featured in numerous publications.  I am the recipient of a number of awards including the Mayor’s Award from the Olympia Arts Commission.  I teach painting, drawing, beginning design, three-dimensional design, and sculpture at Pierce College and Olympic College.  Both schools are located near the shores of the Puget Sound, affording me one of the most beautiful commutes in America.