The Sedona Arts Center is presenting a special juried exhibition of art created from recycled materials throughout January. This exhibition will highlight the value of materials that are typically discarded or recycled and inspires artists and collectors alike to see waste through new eyes when it is “upcycled” into a magnificent artistic creation.

Artists throughout the community are creating works of art for this exhibition. In many cases, they start by visiting their own boneyards of flawed artworks that are waiting to be transformed into something special. Some have joined up with friends to collaborate on a piece for the show.

This exhibition serves an important purpose for everyone: Think before throwing away your everyday trash and see if it can be transformed or repurposed it into a useful item and give it a new life.

One of the participating invited artists in the show is David Fischel, who has completed his piece titled “Home Sweet Home,” a repurposed carved and painted wood creation measuring 52 inches tall by 24 inches wide by 3 inches deep. This piece is repurposed from old wood found in a mine in Colorado. It was sold many years ago to one of Fischel’s clients. When she downsized her art collection, she contacted Fischel to see if he was interested in buying the piece back.

Having a particular emotional attachment to the piece due to the origin of the wood, he bought it back and reworked it with additional carving and painting incorporating some of his new techniques and color. This renewed sculpture adds a contemporary flair to a piece of wood that could easily have been discarded but instead brings life and a keen reflection of nature to life with his distinctive inclusion of a bird as well as a small frog nestled in the valley of the wood at the top of the piece.

Fischel’s graphic reliefs in wood are collected internationally. He translates his lively imagination through the medium of wood freely, combining a painter’s eye for color and composition with a sculptor’s love of form. Fischel is a naturalist strongly influenced by the environment and its elements. This masterpiece clearly demonstrates how something that might be considered trash in its original form can be transformed into art.

This exhibition will also showcase the work of acclaimed invited artists, including Fuller Barnes, David Adix, Taylor Hellmann, Joanne and Art Hiscox, Greg Hull, Susan Kliewer, Phil Lichtenstein, Byron and Deanne McKeown, Rob Myer, Nubia Owens, Jeff Perkins, John Soderberg, Joannie Wolter and many more.

In addition, community artists are reminded that the submission date of Wednesday, July 15, for the call to artists is fast approaching. Submissions will be considered for inclusion by a jury process.

The exhibition will open to the public Friday, Jan. 1, at the Sedona Arts Center and will culminate in a live auction and gala event Saturday, Jan. 30. The exhibition will be showcased in the Main Exhibition Gallery and may overflow into the Special Exhibition Gallery of the Arts Center. Artwork in the Main Gallery will be sold in the live auction event and artwork displayed in the Special Exhibition Gallery will be sold through a silent auction.

eARThflows Project

Also, January will offer a month-long series of related community events celebrating Earth and emphasizing the importance of reusing and recycling the Earth’s limited resources. This project is named eARThflows and includes key partners that will produce events throughout January.

The linchpin of the project is the exhibition The Art of Recycling … Turning Trash into Treasure. The art exhibition ties the community together with nonprofit and for-profit business partners emphasizing the need for preservation of resources and positioning Sedona to model its values as stated in the new Community Plan.

All residents and visitors will find intriguing activities with a provocative art exhibition, green film festival produced by the Sedona International Film Festival, shopping and eco-friendly activities at Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village and the World Wisdom Days event. eARThflows will turn the red rocks of Sedona green with the focus on honoring the planet by one thoughtful action at a time.

Questions about this exhibition and eARThflows can be directed to Gayle Taylor at earthnsky@npgcable.com.

To find more events throughout the week, pick up this week’s the Scene.