Friday, May 24, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
Washed Ashore brings new life to marine debris
By CARA MICO
For Seaside Signal
T
he world is drowning in
plastic debris and Washed
Ashore wants to do some-
thing about it.
To give you an idea of the scope
of the issue, a plastic bag was
recently found at the bottom of one
of the deepest ocean trenches on
Earth and microplastics from poly-
ester and acrylic clothing is now
inside almost every living organ-
ism sampled.
Microplastics are in our salt, our
food, and in us. The Pacifi c Ocean
garbage patch is over twice the size
of Texas and eight million metric
tons of plastics enter our ocean
daily.
Washed Ashore can’t solve
the problem on its own. In the
short time of its existence the
arts group has transformed over
40,000 pounds, or 18 metric tons,
of marine debris into works of art
shown locally, nationally and glob-
ally. For context, it’s estimated that
there is 150 million metric tons of
plastic in our oceans so the orga-
nization has taken 0.000012% of
the total plastic out of the environ-
ment, which is part of why they
are focused on changing people’s
behaviors through education, the
problem is too big for one small
nonprofi t to solve.
“It’s not just coming from L.A.,
it’s fl owing down our rivers from
inland cities as well. Even if we
stop all new plastic from entering
the ocean we’ll have enough mate-
rials to work with for many years,”
said Washed Ashore’s newest
Executive Director John Tannous.
Tannous met with Seaside resi-
dents, city councilors, environmen-
tal and Visitor’s Association repre-
sentatives on May 7 at the Seaside
Brewing Company to showcase
the work they’re doing and see if
Seaside could be home to a future
sculpture. The average cost of a
single sculpture can run upwards
of $75,000 and Washed Ashore has
funding to bring several new sculp-
tures to communities in Oregon.
Creating the sculptures are pro-
cess intensive. Debris is collected,
sifted, sorted, and soaked in vine-
gar to sanitize the plastic before it’s
cut into small enough pieces for
the artists to work with. Sculptures
John Tannous
Artwork from “Washed Ashore.”
Cara Mico
John Tannous
Art from marine debris, presented by John Tannous of “Washed Ashore: Art
to Save the Sea.”
are constructed with minimal new
materials, no paint, glue or other
adhesives.
The creation of the sculpture
is designed and created collab-
oratively with the featured art-
ist-in-residence doing most of the
detail work, and three full time art-
ists and volunteers puzzle piec-
ing bits of plastic together
to make components of the
larger work such as individ-
ual feathers.
The fi nal sculptures are
massive with bases often
over 100 square feet and
steel frames 11 feet tall.
Earlier pieces were ini-
tially constructed on found
objects such as buoys but degra-
dation and weathering lead to col-
lapse so Washed Ashore shifted to
a more permanent steel frame for
durability. From a distance, the
sculptures resemble beautiful, tra-
ditional depictions of local sea life
such as puffi ns, polar bears, and
sharks but upon closer inspection
it’s easy to see the fl ip fl ops, plastic
tubing, and rubber ties that com-
prise the larger image.
“Visibility is important, we’re
using great art to educate people
about plastic in the ocean,” Tan-
nous said. “We want to inspire oth-
‘WE WANT TO INSPIRE
OTHERS FIRST AND
FOREMOST.’
John Tannous
ers fi rst and foremost.”
But the art still needs to look
like the material that it is to meet
their mission of reducing plas-
tic consumption. They don’t want
the work to look “like a hunk of
junk” but still be visually attractive
Protecting the western snowy
plover on local beaches
Seaside Signal
The threatened western
snowy plover lays her eggs
in a shallow scrape in the
sand along the west coast.
These camoufl aged nests
are barely visible, making
the young very vulnerable to
disturbance.
Visitors and residents on
the Oregon Coast are play-
ing a huge role in the recov-
ery of western snowy plo-
vers by respecting beach use
restrictions during the March
15-Sept. 15 nesting season.
Signs or ropes alert
beachgoers to sensitive plo-
ver nesting areas and list spe-
cifi c restrictions for the area.
In most cases, there are
beaches without restric-
tions available to the public
directly to the north or south
of these managed areas.
With the strong come-
back of plovers in Oregon,
the birds are moving beyond
specifi cally designated nest-
ing areas managed by Ore-
gon Parks and Recreation
Department and federal land
managers.
This is especially true on
the central Oregon coast,
where nesting plovers can
again be found in areas such
as South Beach State Park in
Newport.
As a result, there may be
unmarked nests in need of
protection and the contin-
ued cooperation of beachgo-
ers is needed to give plovers
the space they need to suc-
cessfully nest and raise their
young.
Because plovers nest in
dune areas and dry sand,
the easiest way to help them
is to stay on the wet sand
area of the beach. Should
beachgoers come across
an unmarked nest, keep a
respectful distance of 50 feet
and report the nest’s location
to the Parks and Recreation
Department.
To ensure the eggs and
future chicks have the best
John Tannous
Arica Sears of the Oregon Coast
Visitors Association and John
Tannous of Washed Ashore.
Art by John Tannous.
so that the communities where the
sculptures are installed are proud
to have them on display.
“If we just did abstract art peo-
ple wouldn’t know what the mate-
rials are,” Tannous said during the
Seaside presentation. They can see
recognizable pieces of plastic they
use in their lives.”
Washed Ashore is aware
that the concept of marine
debris art isn’t new and
they don’t hold any propri-
etary rights over the beach
plastic model.
The nonprofi t started in
Coos Bay after Oregon art-
ist Angela Haseltine Pozzi
unexpectedly lost her hus-
band to a brain tumor. As part of
her grieving process she would
walk the local beaches looking for
solace in the steady rhythm of the
crashing waves.
Instead, she found what many
have come to think of as common-
place, endless bits of beach plastic.
Haseltine Pozzi started collect-
ing the bits of crumbled bottles,
baby toys, machinery, and amassed
a pile so large that she was inspired
to create art. Shortly thereafter
the nonprofi t Washed Ashore was
founded to generate a larger pub-
lic interest in solving what has
become one of our time’s most
pressing issues.
Seaside might be the latest loca-
tion for one of these sculptures.
The location of the new sculp-
tures is dependent on a few fac-
tors including community support
and visibility. After all the purpose
of the organization is to increase
awareness regarding the extent of
the problem of marine debris with
the goal of eventually changing
behaviors.
“We want to spark change,” he
said. It happened one piece of plas-
tic at a time, eventually the tide
will turn.”
We Specialize in Septic
System repair,
installation
& design
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
Oregon’s beaches are protected nesting grounds for a small
shorebird called the western snowy plover.
Excavating, Demolition, Site
Preparation & Grading
(residential & commercial)
Underground Utilities &
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possible chance of survival,
beach visitors can help by
following a few simple
guidelines:
Respect all areas posted
or roped-off for the protec-
tion of wildlife.
When walking on the
beach, stay on the wet
hard-packed sand. Do not
approach birds or nests.
Follow all rules for
responsible camping and
campfi res.
If dogs are permitted,
don’t allow your dog to play
in the dry sand areas where
birds are more prone to nest.
Never allow your dog to
chase birds.
Do not leave or bury trash
or food scraps on the beach.
Garbage attracts predators
such as gulls, crows, ravens
and skunks. Please dispose
of all trash properly and do
not inadvertently or inten-
tionally feed wildlife.
Keith Keranen
503.717.2200
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CCB #173131 •DEQ #38452
www.KeithKeranenExcavating.com