January 23, 2021

by drplasticpicker

I made this wine-cork upcycled ocean plastic figure yesterday. I was in an intense storm of professional angst, and he came together from the bits and pieces I had saved from the last solo beach clean up. I remember where I found the figure, who I now know is Evil Kenevil, in the sand embankment where the Surf Rake deposits it’s load. I found the blue plastic sand toy handle nearby, broken as many cheap plastic beach toys are. People are often surprised that there are plastic hangers in the beach. I’ve found many like the one above. Just the top parts. I don’t know how and I don’t now where from. I just find them and keep the interesting plastic bits. It all came together to make a sailboat, and a plastic figure (now I know from Toy Story 4) that was trying to ride off into an unknown future.

I loved this figure and meant to keep him, but I showed him to the first patient and he found a home very quickly. He will make a young boy happy and raise awareness. That is the entire point, so it’s selfish to keep him. I can go to the beach and find more bits and pieces and make another one. Each one is different, and it takes a great emotional moment for me to create one like him. I hope I don’t have another moment of professional angst like the one that created him.

The center wheel like plastic piece with the metal , I have to admit, did not come from the beach. It’s the part of the Kirkland brand old salt-grinder. It’s the last single-use Kirkland salt-grinder that I will ever buy. I kept that piece because Kirkalnd now makes refillable salt-grinders. This was the last model, and I had watched a YouTube video several times trying to figure out how to refill the old Kirkland salt-grinder. I ended up breaking the entire thing, but kept that top interesting bit with the metal. The rest of the salt grinder/shaker was recycleably #1 plastic. Who knows if it actually gets recycled? But I put it in the recyclable bin with hope that the city does it’s job.

I really like working with wine-corks as the unifying piece to the upcycled plastic figures. I thought I was running out of wine-corks, but I’ve found more in the kitchen drawers and in the dark of the kitchen at 605AM – I’ve collected them in a bowl for myself.

I’ll never forget you Evil Kenevil Riding Away on a Plastic Wine-Cork Sailboat: Good-Bye.