Jan

Creative Ideas: Dishes Feed a Community Art Project

by Janine Boylan on January 6, 2013

Belgium tree, showing creative ideas for a community art project

Hasselt’s Tree of Taste
© Mooz

Belgium’s Porcelain Tree of Taste

In the back of my cupboard, I have a few dishes that don’t match the rest of my set. One plate was a gift from a relative, another was from a garage sale, and a third came from my travels. I never use them, but since I can’t seem to part with them, they continue to occupy space in the cupboard.

From Unused Dishes to a Creative Idea

Like me, Inge Vanluyd and Stefan Vanbergen of the creative agency mooz noticed that they had a small collection of unused dishes in their cupboards. But, unlike me, they had an inspiring OIC moment.

For the holiday season, they decided to create a stunning porcelain tree in their city of Hasselt, Belgium. A tree decorates the town square every year, but instead of cutting a live tree this year, Vanluyd and Vanbergen created the tree as a community art project.

They asked local residents to donate old white plates and cups (blue or gold trim was acceptable, too). Collaborating on the creative idea, three thousand people contributed about five thousand cups and plates.

close up of Belgium tree, showing creative ideas for a community art project

Symmetrical rows of plates and cups
© Mooz

The resulting tree took about a week to construct. It stands almost thirty feet (9 meters) high and almost twenty feet (6 meters) around.

Showing yet another creative idea, the designers decided to call the creation a “Tree of Taste,” a nod to the city’s culinary title, “The Capital of Taste.”

A Little Gift Goes a Long Way

Hasselt’s tree was on display until January 6, the end of the holiday season. While some residents missed a traditional holiday decoration, others noted that the sculpture was more environmentally-friendly than killing a live tree.

Continuing with more creative ideas in an environmental theme, the plates will be reused as part of a permanent mosaic in a community parking area in the city.

Oh, I see, a little gift goes a long way! Alone, the plates would have continued to gather dust in the cupboards, but together, they became a tree of solidarity. Many members of the community gave a little of themselves, and the result was a large gift for the city.

If anyone is inspired for a community art project for next year, let me know. I may have some plates I can contribute!

Hasselt town square
© Mooz

VIA Designboom

Janine Boylan 3 Comments

Belgium/Clever Ideas/The World's Art & Design

Jan

An Irritating Issue Invites Creative Problem Solving

by Meredith Mullins on January 3, 2013

Littering of chewed gum, showing need for Creative Problem Solving

What Do U C?
© Meredith Mullins

What Do You See in the Photo?

An early Jackson Pollock? A view of the earth from the edge of space? A beachside road where seagulls have marked their territory?

Still not sure? Perhaps this riddle will help provide an Oh, I see moment:

It has all the attributes of a good friend.

It’s long lasting.
It sticks through thick and thin.
It stays true to itself (it doesn’t change in basic form or values).

But unlike a good friend, it offers nothing concretely useful, it’s annoying when it’s not a part of your life, and it’s disgusting when it’s past its prime.

What is it? Do U C now?

Meredith Mullins Comments

Clever Ideas/Innovations

Nov

Clever Uses for Old Campaign Signs

by Janine Boylan on November 12, 2012

What’s the Life Cycle of a Campaign Sign?

From Planting to Harvest

Just a week ago, when election season was in full swing, brightly colored campaign signs were sprouting hourly along the roadside. By election day, competing candidates’ signs were jostling for each nourishing ray of motorists’ attention.

Then, suddenly, the morning after the election, nearly all the signs had been plucked away. The freeway fields were bare again.

It made me wonder: what is the life cycle of a campaign sign?

The planting season for campaign signs varies, but in California, where I live, there are rules:

It is safe to set signs in the ground no earlier than 90 days prior to an election.
They may not be in the right-of-way of any highway.
Signs have to be maintained by a responsible party who agrees to harvest them within ten days of the election.

So, if you venture out before sunrise on the morning after the election, you may see candidates and their teams out picking signs. “You’ve got to be a responsible citizen and get all the signs you put out, and even some that you didn’t,” Phil Salzer, elected to the Peoria County Board, explained.

One candidate, John Pierre Menvielle, had carefully marked each of his sign placements on a map, and, knowing where they all were, he was able to gather 400 of his signs in one day. Some candidates even make agreements to pick up one another’s signs to make the task a little easier.

Seeds for the Next Stage

Then what’s next in the life cycle of a campaign sign? It may become the seed for a clever use in its next stage:

Some signs are considered collectibles. People think of political signs as historical mementoes, so they tuck them away as souvenirs.
Some signs get replanted next election season. “We try to gather them up and clean them so we can use them in other elections,” campaign manager Dan Pelphrey said. He explained that if candidates don’t go for reelection, they might give the wire stakes to other candidates to use for their signs. (Stakes can cost from around $.25 to $1 each.)
A few signs get recycled. While many recycling centers do not accept political signs because of the various materials they are made of, some centers do collect and recycle them. So this year’s campaign sign may be one ingredient in the next generation of campaign signs.

campaign sign showing a clever use as bicycle parts

Wheel Out a Very Clever Use!

Kent Peterson of Puget Sound, Washington, has a very clever use for the pulled-up signs: he carves them into bike accessories. In the photo above, the saddlebag on the back is made from a repurposed sign.

Look closely at the front and back fenders—they were once signs as well. Brilliant: using mud-slinging politicians’ signs to keep the mud from slinging onto my clothes!

Oh, I see the full life cycle of a campaign sign from planting to the consumer!

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Category Archives: Clever Ideas