Our Eco-friendly Practices
At ART for ALL, we are committed to eco-friendly practices whenever possible in our work, including our unique and repurposed yard signs initiative. Here are some of our practices:
Repurposed and reused materials
Corrugated Plastic: Old yard signs and left over corrugated plastic from local companies are the base material of our repurposed yard signs. There are massive amounts of used yard signs out there. Better to reuse than make more!
plastic sheeting: We get left over sintra, or plastic sheets from local businesses and use it as the basis of signs, murals and the plastic flowers which have been used in the West Concord spring festival and Open Door Theater’s Wizard of Oz.
Saved from the landfill: We get some supplies from the swap shop at the Carlisle landfill.
Disposing of acrylic paints
Acrylic paints include acrylic polymers and pigments that should not be going into the water system. When left to dry, the paint becomes a solid which can be safely thrown away. At the Art for All studio, rather than rinsing pallets and jars, we allow paint to dry and peel it off. We remove as much excess paint as possible before rinsing brushes. We are currently working out a system to filter what paint water is left.
Donations
A large percentage of the materials used in creating our projects are generously donated by members and businesses in our community. This support allows us to minimize our environmental footprint and stretch our finances further.
Community Corner
One of Art for All core values is to use existing resources whenever possible. This approach has several benefits: reducing
costs; respecting the environment and building community connections with more collaborators.
The Great Exchange
Art for All team members with staff of The Great Exchange in Devens. We picked up fabulous materials for future workshops and public art projects at very little cost.
"The Great Exchange facilitates the reuse of unneeded items in new/like new condition with the added benefits of avoided disposal cost, community stewardship, and environmental protection. Recovered items are made available with significant discounts to schools, municipalities and other nonprofits"
ICL Imaging
In Framingham sets aside materials such as gatorboard plastic wood and corrugated plastic sheets that become parts of our projects and displays. Here is Mike Sprague at ICL picking up materials that will become part of the Signs of Wellbeing and Signs of Life projects.
Crosby Design
Our local sign-making shop, on Bradford Street in West Concord, puts aside leftover materials for us. They also often cut the pieces to fit the project! Here is Scott Allen cutting plastic sheets in the shape of flower petals which will become the flowers that Art for All Abilities is making for Open Door Theatre's Wizard of Oz. Such a virtuous circle!
