(Re)Telling a Story

It’s trashed in laundry-mats and homes around the country but for one Amarillo College associate professor, the stuff that accumulates in dryers and belly buttons is considered a collectors item. That’s right, we are talking about lint. Local artist Steven Cost uses lint to create his pieces and he is one of many artists whose work will be on display in the Amarillo Museum of Art’s 2010 Recycled Art Festival beginning in early September.

Steven has been teaching college level art classes since 1982 and five years ago started working with collage as a form of expression, using a combination of textures and different types of media.

“When I was growing up my mother would bring home old ledger books from her work and I would cartoon on top of the lines and grids to create altered books,” Steven says. He used this method of adding and stacking on top of books he already owned as a way to scrapbook his years in college, like when he was a student studying abroad in Italy.

Steven’s textural experimentation gave him the opportunity to create his very own handmade papers. He has mastered the art and process of making all types of paper. It is this medium that permits him to delve into using different sorts of recycled materials, such as lint, to make paper.

The pieces Steven created for the recycled art show are the result of a time consuming, complicated process that transforms a recycled piece of lint from a dryer to a shadow box.

“I take a lot of water and a little cotton and mix them together using a blender. I’ve ruined plenty of blenders. And if I want color, I add dyed napkins.”

He puts the now-slushy mixture into large storage containers, adds lint and water and eventually drains it using a wire screen.

“The community has started literally dropping lint off at my door step,” he laughs. Steven uses 25 to 30 sheets, stacking them until he get the thickness he needs. He told me that he can make 50 to 100 sheets a day.

He was first inspired to convert recycled items into art in 1997 when he visited a Santa Fe museum. This process with handmade papers has given Steven plenty of inspiration to blend used materials into art. In addition to lint, he will be using second-hand metals, old keys, clock parts and vintage toys to convey his message.

For the festival, Steven will be creating a three-dimensional collage piece situated inside a shadow box entitled, “Time Flies.” The artists donate their recycled pieces to the Amarillo Museum of Art and some win cash prizes. During the Recycled Arts Festival, Steven says, “The community will see an immense amount of creativity, intrigue and excitement.”

“I know I will be knocked out by the creativity at the festival,” he says. “I will definitely incorporate recycled art into my future design classes.”

In addition to teaching, Steven has tired his hand at other trades, such as art director of Amarillo Observer Magazine and various graphic design jobs, some involving packaging design throughout the Panhandle and in Pensacola, Florida. However, out of all his trades, teaching is by far his favorite. Throughout his years in the art community, Steven reflects, “I have learned that if you are true to yourself, people will connect to your art and in return the community will support your art.”

“In the 1920’s people who pioneered Amarillo had their eye only on functionality with very little focus on the arts,” Steven says. “In the past, there has not been a long-standing tradition in the knowledge of art. But presently there are more than 100 artists working collectively to make art available under one roof at the Sunset Center Art Galleries. Dozens have entered to share their art in the upcoming Recycled Art Festival.”

The Recycled Art Festival will be on exhibit at the Amarillo Museum of Art on the campus of Amarillo College September 11-26. A special preview party is planned for the evening of September 10 from 6:30-9 p.m. On the 11th, festivities include a recycle fashion show and costume contest at 1 p.m., and a variety of recycle art vendors. For more information, contact the Amarillo Museum of Art at 371.5050 or visit amarilloart.org.

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