RANGELEY — Rangeley Lakes Regional School students will soon have the opportunity to look at trash in a new and inspiring way. The school will host visiting artist Kim Bernard beginning May 27-30 for a hands-on Trash to Art program. During her visit, students will collaboratively create a permanent art installation to be on display at the school. To ensure the success of the program, the school is asking community members to dig through their recycling for clean #2 HDPE plastic, the material needed to create the art.

Bernard, of Rockland, is a full-time professional artist with 30 years experience in teaching art. She shows her work nationally and creates installations upcycled out of trash. Currently, her focus is involving students and communities in transforming plastic waste into sculpture. She works with people of all ages through her Trash to Art visiting artist program at schools, colleges and in communities.

“I’ve always worked sculpturally and created installations,” Bernard said. “I just have always had environmental concerns about waste and consumption. I try really hard in my home and in my personal life to reduce my footprint. I saw a disconnect between what I was doing in the studio for materials and what I was trying to do in my home. It was really just a matter of recognizing that if I was going to do it in my personal life, I should also be doing it in my art and in my studio. So, I made a commitment to use all recycled materials in my creative work.”

Bernard said prior to the COVID-19 pandemic she had been contemplating building the machines needed to transform plastic into an art medium.

“During COVID, I decided I could really focus on building the machines and using them. I didn’t end up building them but eventually found someone to do it for me,” she said.

In 2021, she began to include the machines in her Trash to Art visiting artist programs.

The machines include a shredder, that turn plastic into flakes, and an extruder, that melts the flakes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

“Pigment is added and when it comes out of the extruder, it is kind of like colorful toothpaste. It is very malleable. We wear gloves to manipulate the plastic as it comes out of the extruder,” Bernard explained.

She travels with a workshop on wheels, the PopUpCycler. The trailer, in the shape of the recycling symbol, carries some plastic to be used in projects. Once on site, the sides of the trailer fold down to become tables used by participants as they create their art.

Bernard said, as a visiting artist, she is typically on site for a five-day visit. Throughout the week, she works with students to create a sculptural installation somewhere on the grounds, either inside or out.

Prior to arriving, she works with school staff to determine the theme, connecting the art to either what students are currently learning about or by drawing inspiration from the natural features of the local area. The installation always has an environmental theme, she said.

“The work is installed by the end of the week so that the students can continue to enjoy it, be proud of it, and feel like they made it collectively,” she said. “They understand how it’s made.”

As students take part in the creative process, Bernard will engage students in a discussion about simple changes people can make to reduce their carbon footprint.

“It can be something as simple as thrift shopping, handing down your clothing, accepting sports equipment from someone who is bigger or older than you, carrying a reusable water bottle or using a reusable lunch bag. We talk about all these small, small ways that allow the students to feel empowered and not overwhelmed by the problem,” Bernard said.

In the weeks leading up to the workshop, the school community runs a collection campaign for plastic material. Bernard uses #2 HDPE plastic, which is commonly white or translucent and can be easily dyed. Colored plastics are not shredded or melted, rather they are cut and used to embellish the sculpture

“When I arrive, they have already been collecting for weeks, so they are anticipating this and we just start right away,” she said.

Community members are encouraged to drop off clean #2 HDPE plastic in the school lobby through May 27. Pick ups can also be scheduled by contacting school librarian Abigail Thompson at 864-3311.

“It’s pretty special that we’re able to host her and that the students here at RLRS will have quality time with a working Maine-based artist,” Thompson said. 

Although the work is intended to be permanent, sometimes schools decide to take the installation down. In those cases, Bernard offers to take the piece back to be recycled into a new work of art.

“The Trash to Art program raises awareness and engages people,” she said. “That is what this is all about. The kids will remember because they are participating hands on. They are doing the making and then exhibiting their own work. They will remember because they didn’t just hear me talk about it. They created it themselves. They will be experts by the end of the week in how plastic is recycled, where it comes from, and where it ends up.”