Photo: Ernie Constantino
May 2007 | Choice News
Recycled Art and Consciousness at Senn H.S.
In a more sustainable world, the old adage “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” must take on a new meaning. That’s why students at Edgewater’s Senn High School are learning about reusing and recycling in the city’s first Recycled Art Program (RAP).
Through the collaboration of Senn High teacher Barbara Singer, Chicago’s Assistant Water Commissioner Tom LaPorte and Chicago artists KokoPaulli, Greg Sklar and Jonathon Alsum operating under the banner of Burners Without Borders, the students of Senn High School are being taught the literal “art” of recycling, as well as earning service hours needed toward graduation.
Objects used in the art are donated by block clubs in the 48th Ward, whose members have been asked by Alderman Mary Ann Smith to dig through their attics and basements. Other sources include donations from the residents of two participating high-rises and drop boxes at two banks in Edgewater. Types of art generated by the students include anything from functional sculptures, to origami, to reusable shopping bags.
The program was largely developed by artist and vegan chef, KokoPaulli, by following the same ideals he used to found the Sew-Op, a free co-operative textile space in the Pilsen neighborhood. The Sew-Op is a place in which members can be guided through creating everything from their own clothing to wearable recycled art creations ala Burning Man.
Edgewater’s Chamber of Commerce has formally agreed to donate space in numerous windows for the display of the student’s art. The Chamber hopes to work with the alderman’s office, the Department of Planning and the School of the Art Institute in coming months to use the art for Chicago’s first elevated sculpture garden. The sculptures will be placed atop buildings along the Red Line for CTA riders to view as they commute.
This program is just one of several projects being powered by Burners Without Borders, a new community-based phenomenon that has participants of the Burning Man Festival working for positive social change. “Burners Without Borders combines the arts with a sense of civic responsibility,” said Tom LaPorte. The group began with Hurricane Katrina relief and now Chicago is one of the first cities to see a local chapter form.
The Recycled Art program teaches the next generation of consumers about recycling and waste reduction, and empowers them to take action in their individual lives. Whether it’s for fashion, function or just fun, the aesthetic appeal of a beautiful sculpture or just the appeal of saving money, Senn High School’s RAP is an example of how to plug today’s youth into the need for social change.
— Kara Zamora
Photo: courtesy Organic Trade Association
All Things Organic Keep(s) Growing
Organic has hit big time. U.S. sales of organic foods have grown nearly 20 percent each year since 1997 and most Americans now use organic products at least occasionally. Many start with produce and move on to organic meat, dairy and packaged goods. With so many new products and customers, organic is the fastest growing part of the food chain, to the tune of $16 billion in 2006.
Likewise, the All Things Organic trade show is shaping up to be the biggest since it moved to the Windy City from Austin, Texas four years ago. Starting with 120 exhibitors and a few thousand attendees in 2001, the event has overgrown its space this year with 611 exhibitors plus a waiting list. And organizers expect 16,000 people at McCormick Place for a jam-packed event this month.
“We’ll be filled to the brim this year,” said Barbara Haumann of the Organic Trade Association, the event’s organizer. “Next year we’ll be in a bigger space and expand to 800 booths.” The trade group started by a few individuals in 1985 has nearly 1,700 members today, from farmers to manufacturers. More than half are ‘mom and pop’ operations that make under $100,000 per year and other members include larger companies such as Horizon and Organic Valley.
Chicago-based Goodness Greeness, an organic food distributor, has exhibited at the trade show for five years and has seen organic grow — and grow up — along with the show. President Bob Scaman says it worked out well to have the show coincide with other food events in Chicago because it brought new people into the fold. “The infusion of more mature industries pushed organic companies outside the box and into the mainstream. It’s the coming of age of the industry”
“We’ve seen tremendous growth since the down-home days in Austin,” said Karen Innis of Wisconsin-based Organic Valley. The farmer-owned cooperative has expanded its product line along with the show, introducing new items such as their line of meat products featured this year. “That’s what brings people in — when they taste the product.”
But organic is not just on the table these days. Non-food products are growing at a pace of 32 percent a year. This includes personal care products, nutritional supplements, fiber (linen and clothing), household cleaners, flowers and pet food. U.S. sales of non-food organic items reached $744 million in 2005, led by flowers, pet food and fiber products, growing at 44 to 50 percent.
To keep “all things organic” growing, the trade association provides Organic 101 workshops that have received excellent marks. To take it a step further, OTA is creating a one stop resource for organic producers and sellers, a “How To Go Organic” website that will be unveiled at the show this month.
— Keri Lynch
Photo: Steve Bialer
“Audio Emissions” Spin Carbon-Neutral Sounds
Last October, local DJ and entrepreneur Liz McLean Wright needed to go to O’Hare Airport to fetch 500 purses and 2,500 audio adaptors she’d imported from China.
“I knew there was no way I could transport them on the Blue Line, so I looked into renting an SUV versus I-GO cars, and for short runs like running to O’Hare and back I-GO was way more affordable,” says the Wicker Park resident, who also goes by Quantazelle. “I’ve also used it to play DJ gigs and live laptop sets around town in places where cabs aren’t as accessible.”
Members of the nonprofit car sharing service pay an annual fee to rent 125 vehicles scattered throughout the city, Evanston and Oak Park. I-GO estimates its vehicles have replaced some 2,000 private cars and eliminated 7,823 metric tons of emissions since 2004, and plans to have 200 cars on the road by next year.
“I-GO is perfect for DJs or musicians because it’s free between midnight and 6am, and a lot of bands buy cars just to move equipment,” says I-GO’s Melissa Haeffner.
She says musicians jumped at the chance to be part of the eclectic new I-GO “Audio Emissions” CD compilation, which features five local acts chosen by members as well as a handpicked group that includes Koko Taylor, Mucca Pazza, Devil in a Woodpile, The Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and Andrew Bird — who tours in a biodiesel bus.
“Our goal is that everybody who listens to the CD will at least like one song out of the whole collection,” Haeffner explains.
Madison Buchanan, Palliard, Quantazelle and others will play at a 21-and-over carbon neutral release party for the CD hosted by Chic-A-Go-Go’s Miss Mia on Thursday, May 31 at Metro (for details visit igocars.org). The carbon neutral event will feature a free bike valet.
“I think it’s really important that we all look to car-ownership alternatives to transport us around,” says Wright, who appears in I-GO ads. “Not only are cars responsible for sending greenhouse gasses into the air and making people reliant on fossil fuels, they’ve been directly responsible for urban sprawl.”
— Cara Jepsen
Photo: Xio Guang Tse
Nation’s First Certified Organic Bakery: Sweet Home Chicago
Pastry chef and adventurer Michelle Garcia honed her baking chops in San Francisco and various locations around the world before finding herself back in her native Chicago and — to her surprise — opening a café with her husband, Vinnie, a long-time foodservice manager. Besides their combined years of restaurant experience, it is their shared passion for local and organic food that made this a sweet dream come true.
Their Chicago partnership has borne two children and a unique bakery that is receiving high acclaim and a loyal customer base in their eclectic Ukrainian Village neighborhood. Bleeding Heart Bakery opened its pink-adorned doors in October of 2005, and on March 28th of this year became the first certified all-organic bakery in the nation.
“We have been organic since we opened, we just couldn’t get certified until now,” Garcia said. “We’ve never used anything but completely organic ingredients. It took almost two years of planning where we went out to farmers and talked about exactly what we would need.”
Besides farmers, Michelle worked closely with her supplier, Goodness Greeness, whom she connected with in 2006 when Dan Bobel was just launching the foodservice side of this popular organic produce distribution business. It was a joint labor of love to get all the consistent ingredients — butter, cream and just the right flour — needed for Michelle’s famed pastries and Vinnie’s paninis.
“He does savory and I do sweet,” Michelle said. “We split it half and half.” The daily café menu features soups, sandwiches, vegan chili and granola — all 100 percent organic and home-made. Bleeding Heart has healthy foods for strict dieters, vegans and organic “purists” and treats for all taste buds too. “It’s a mixed bag of clients and there is something for everyone. Some buy just for the artistry.”
The Garcia’s gamble and Michelle’s artistry are already paying off. Bleeding Heart was voted best Chicago bakery in 2006 before it had even been open a year. Michelle was also voted 2006 Pastry Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation, and her work is being recognized well beyond its organic roots. That’s just how she wanted it to be.
“At first we were on the down low about organics,” she said. “We wanted customers to first taste the product and fall in love with it, and then find out it is all organic. Now with the organic certification, it’s a totally different playing field.”
— Keri Lynch
Ten Years of Infinity and Beyond!
Remember when aromatherapy, feng shui and meditation were fringe?
Nancy Grace Marder does. She started offering meditation classes at a healing center in Northbrook in 1997. With an initial list of 2,000 people, she created programs on mind-body-spirit and holistic medicine. She sought out unique voices and ideas, which at the time many found strange. Now they’re finally catching on.
As executive director of the Infinity Foundation, now in Highland Park, Marder plans programs that reach almost 10 times more people then she did a decade ago. So far, Infinity Foundation has held 1,400 classes in art and expression, spiritual practice, holistic healing and personal growth: from angels to alchemy, hormone balance to home decorating, reiki to relaxation.
These days, New Age lingo appears throughout popular culture. Advertisers use words like soul and spirit to sell everything from cars to clothing. Spirituality is even showing up in the workplace, a trend called “conscious capitalism” that blends “doing good” with higher productivity and profits. It almost makes you think that (gulp) New Age has gone mainstream.
“Everyone is looking for meaning in their life,” Marder said. “The bottom line is change. Our classes give people a place to find meaning, and some come away with life transformations. Their relationships improve, and that’s how they affect change in the world.”
Some class participants are practitioners who understand esoteric subjects. Others are brand new to it. The courses are experiential and geared toward making positive life changes, regardless of the perspective. And since most course offerings change every trimester, there is always something new to learn.
About 50 volunteers help run the center and a few, like Karen Daughtry, are also faculty members. Daughtry leads mini-workshops that are free to the public, teaching people of all levels and abilities. She says she loves to “de-mystify” esoteric subjects.
“Infinity’s classes don’t raise as many eyebrows as they once did,” Daughtry said. “People are more used to ideas from different cultures. And as people increase their consciousness, we can reach critical mass and affect the entire culture.”
“These changes echo into society,” Marder added. “We affect change by practicing what we’ve learned. We can rise above old habits and impact the larger society.”
In May, Infinity celebrates its 10th birthday with James Redfield, author of The Celestine Prophecy, the bestselling book that was made into a movie in 2000. Redfield will be the keynote speaker at a benefit on Saturday, May 19, and will lead a workshop, “Synchronicity: Deepening Spiritual Awareness,” on Sunday, May 20. Tickets are available via telephone at 847-831-8828 or at infinityfoundation.org.
— Keri Lynch
Don’t Get Mad, Get Active
Conscious Alliance — Art That Feeds People
Nearly 4.5 million Americans seek food assistance relief every week, and millions more go hungry in silence.
The Conscious Alliance works to eliminate hunger through the use of artwork.
Since their inception in 2002 they have successfully collected and distributed over 500,000 pounds of non-perishable food donations to local food pantries and impoverished communities across the United States, through collaborations with musicians String Cheese Incident, STS9, Dave Matthews Band, Jack Johnson, Phil Lesh and many others.
Project Restoration is its two-year old initiative to construct a network of food storage and delivery facilities on the Indian Reservations in the greater western United States. Through a series of benefit shows entitled “The Rebel Alliance,” Conscious Alliance raised enough money to erect the facility in the fall of 2005 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
Conscious Alliance’s goal is to collect and distribute one million pounds of food to America’s hungry — both in cities and on impoverished American Indian Reservations. Once that goal is reached, it hopes to collect and distribute one million pounds of food per year every year thereafter.
Visit consciousalliance.org to join the virtual food drive and catch future concert dates.
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