Artist turns trash from the sea into a touring educational treasure

The old saying is “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” but Bette Booth is out to show that one man’s trash is just trash.

The Santa Fe, N.M., resident recently decided to spin trash into an artistic and educational experience, and her Splash Trash Tour exhibit spreads the message that garbage is wreaking havoc on the world’s oceans.

The Splash Trash Tour, an arts-based, hands-on pop-up show, is being hosted in Robinson Preserve’s Valentine House until Feb. 25. A grand opening for the exhibit was held Friday afternoon. Exhibits are mostly made from trash and informational displays.

Her project started in 2016, when she took what she called a “life-changing” vacation to Honduras and saw piles of trash littering the country’s beaches.

“After I stopped crying, I got a $2 glue gun and some string and I started making art out of it,” Booth said.

It sparked in her a desire to learn more. The more she learned, the more she wanted to see and inspire change.

The tour, she said, is a test to see if, after sharing what she knows about the pollution of the oceans, she’ll feel better. Booth said he might continue to feel the calling to spread the word in her unique way.

In her self-funded project, she said she’s looking to spread that knowledge to others. Because of her career as an environmental communicator, it’s a task she’s well-equipped to handle, she said.

The exhibit is visiting six coastal Florida counties in early 2017 with Manatee County marking the third stop.

The exhibit ends by asking participants to make a commitment on what they can do to make a difference. Visitors are encouraged to add their pledges to a bulletin board, describing what they will do for the next 30 days to reduce the amount of trash they create.

“Plastic never goes away. Ever. So even when we recycle, it’s not being recycled. We produce more plastic than we can actually recycle,” Booth said. “Recycling is not the solution. Using less plastic is the solution.”

Booth said one of her favorite parts of the exhibit coming to Manatee County is the venue. She said the Valentine House is, in a way, recycled and reused. Melissa Nell, Manatee County parks and natural resources volunteer and education division manager, said it’s a theme that fits right along with the county’s mission.

Nell said the county agreed to bring the Splash Trash Tour to the Valentine House before seeing the full exhibit. But for Nell, it’s more than exceeded expectations.

“It was one of the things where we hadn’t seen the exhibit. We didn’t realize it would such an immersive and hands-on experience,” Nell said.

She added the educational component of the tour is “fascinating.”

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re a child or an adult, it’s easy to understand,” Nell said. “It’s not a sense of fear or depression, but empowerment and knowledge.”

Several school groups, as well as other organizations have planned trips to see the exhibit while it’s in Manatee County, according to Nell. Booth, she said, is also doing external visits to area libraries to spread the word about the dangers of trash in oceans.

Shalalai Elswick, 10, and her brother, Nirapai Elswick, 11, came with their mother to see the pop-up show Friday afternoon.

“Another thing that I feel is good about this is that you’re taking stuff that we just found on the beach and using it to create art. And that’s just really good,” Nirapai said.

After going through the exhibit, Shalalai said she is going to pick up trash she sees on the ground.

“You could also not use as many plastic bags and use reusable ones,” she added.

The biggest thing Booth hopes people take from her Splash Trash Tour is the idea of using what they already have available.

“Carry your own bag, carry your own bottle, carry your own cup and don’t use straws. And that will take care of 50 percent of the problem,” Booth said.

This story was originally published February 17, 2017 at 9:14 PM with the headline "Artist turns trash from the sea into a touring educational treasure."