Seagull made from six pack rings.

This is "Zippy"  The 4th sea animal I created from six pack rings, the three sculptures before him were also seagulls and the four together created "A Flock Of Seagulls"  (hah hah).  Seagulls are the most famous sea animals affected by this blight, mostly due to the ad campaign from the 70's, from which to this day still works and makes us cut them up-so they wont strangle seagulls, here is the famous photo on which that campaign was based:

Zippy was purchased during the Greenpoint open studios art show at Brouwerij Lane and has since fled the flock, but to this day he hangs above scores of beer drinkers bringing awareness to the masses.
If you would like to become involved in ocean preservation, here is a link to a great website:
http://plasticpollutioncoalition.org/
Martin Sheen, Bonnie Raitt, Tim Robbins, Raymond Pettibon AND Wavy Gravy have all endorsed this site!

Penguin of Six Pack Rings.

The Penguin of six pack rings is the 6th Sea Animal affected by six pack rings I have created.  It is made from one (approx) 50 foot piece of wire and held together with small nylon zip ties.  I made the penguin look a little sad because it's offspring are in danger from six pack rings and other trash floating around in their habitat.  I'm a little angry at pixar because this is all I get when I search for "Penguins in six pack rings":

This is Lovelace, is a character in "Happy Feet" a movie with good intentions but a little weird for kids because of all the impending doom.  Lovelace is played by Robin Williams,  I sometimes wonder if  these cartoon movies are not quality checked by the actors before they are released.
Here is what it really looks like (this is a seal):

I came across this guy's site while checking around for facts about six-pack rings, he is lobbying to have six pack rings colored in order to see them better:
http://www.coloredsixpackrings.com/
Pretty interesting, I would love to get my hands on some black six pack rings so I can make a penguin wearing a Tuxedo!
The "Plastic Swirl" in our oceans is a huge problem, I am surprised that real estate tycoons have not tried yet to buy it, it will eventually become a new continent!  Here is a quote I found at the Sierra Club's website and a link to an interesting article:
"Thompson discovered studies from the late 1960s documenting albatross eating plastic and reports over the ensuing decades of turtles chewing on shopping bags and seabirds strangled by six-pack rings. Photos of these hapless animals first awakened the public to the menace. Plastic objects kill an estimated 100,000 marine mammals and one million birds every year, including the albatross: mistaking trash for fish, it starves with a stomach full of cigarette lighters and disposable forks."
http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200905/message2.aspx

Green Sea Turtle of six pack rings...

When I discovered tha Sea Turtles were affected by six pack ring I was appalled!

So I Built this:

The Turtle is one of the oldest and coolest animals in our oceans.  I have met people in Key West who know about the old days when Green Sea Turtle Soup was a thing they ate!   They even had a packaging plant where they put turtle soup into cans... To this day they dive near the old docks in order to find treasured Turtle and Conch Shells which are now illegal to harvest.  Green sea Turtles are one of the sea animals affected by six pack rings.

The Bottle Nose Dolpin of six pack rings

 

This Dolphin made from six pack rings is the 5th Sea Animal affected by six pack rings I created, she is made from one piece of wire, except for the 3 support rings which helps her hold her shape.  The Process of building one of these sculptures is as follows:

1:   Stretch the wire: The wire retains its Circular shape from the packaging and shipping process, I unwind the spool of wire and let it breath for a night, spanning it in straight paths across the studio.  Un tensioning this wire is a continual process during the framing process., the tension retained in the wire is unbelievably strong and must be burnished out as the wire is used in the sculpture.

2:  Bend the Wire into an Animal: After deciding the starting point and developing a plan, the spatial thinking comes in effect, I may hang it on a hook, turn it upside down, even perpendicular.   I print out a bunch of google photos of the sea animals to have images on reference and place them on the table.  Zip Ties are the preferred method of connection.

3:  Apply the Six-Pack Rings:  They are amazingly versatile and create an almost invisible skin for the animal.  Placing the rings seems random but is a carefully thought out process.  Zip ties again are used and I have created a special belt I wear during this process, here is a picture of the belt setup:

I have my Clippers on hand to snip the end off the zip ties and never have to scramble to find a zip tie while holding a bunch of six pack rings and wire together to connect.
Yes that is a penguin in the making in the background!  It is finished, it is made from one piece of uncut wire,  and I will be photographing and posting it soon..

4: Photograph the Sculpture:  Each Sea animal is photographed with a black backdrop, I mix flashes with sunlight and long exposures to bring out the natural energy of  the sculpture, sunlight bounces around inside the creature to create a evenly lit glow.

Sea Animals in Danger!

I have created a family of sea animal sculptures made from six pack rings, they hang as mobiles on fishing line.  It started with me cutting up six pack rings in order to save seagulls, and I thought, "why not make a seagull out of them instead?"  Then upon further research I discovered about all of the other animals strangled by six pack rings, Sea Turtles, Dolphins and Penguins!  Here is a National Geographic style photo collage I have created from photos on the sculptures on a black background.

Here is a link to other artworks:
http://www.rossacolephotos.com/Art/Point-Green-Pictures/10731083_pzXbx