Jackie Olivia wearing her piece “The DC/Marvel Superhero Comic Book Dress”

By Jack Adams

On June 22, at the Uniun Warehouse in Somerville, the 2nd annual Trash Bash was held, a competition where art submitted had to be entirely made out of trash. Over 40 artists entered their work, for both the adult and youth competitions.

Jennifer Lawrence and Debra McLaughlin of ArtsUnion organized the Bash. McLaughlin said that about 25 percent of the artists there this year had participated the year before as well, although this year they had to submit different art.

The adult competition was close, but Kathy Abbot won for her piece The Angry Ocean, with Consuelo Perez and her piece Trash to Treasure, and Jackie Olivia’s The DC/Marvel Superhero Comic Book Dress” coming in second and third respectively.

For the youth competition, first place went to Aidan Pitman for I Am My Piece, second to Tufts Educational Day Care Center for Dumbo, and third to Tatiana Thomas for Glittering Mirror.

Laura Wilhelm and Wayne Nickerson of Collaborative Artworks, Inc. in Lynn submitted pieces to the Trash Bash.

Wayne Nickerson (Center) and Jackie Olivia (Right)

Nickerson’s art consisted of blocks of wood, which he said were from construction sites, covered with intricate pen drawings. When it comes to the wood selection process, Nickerson said he “likes funky.”

“We’re a safe space for artists, and everybody, economic, whatever your struggle, you come in and mentor people. We have about eight [people] right now, we’re a small and intimate group,” said Wilhelm, who is the director of Collaborative Artworks, Inc.

Wilhelm’s piece in the show is called People Trap and consists of rusty lobster traps bent into the shape of a person, filled with trash. She said it was a commentary on the pollution in the oceans.

“I don’t mean to be a pessimist, it just struck me as something to do,” said Wilhelm.

Wilhelm said it was difficult to make. “I used a hammer to jimmy and make the curves, I used a hack saw to cut where I saw fit, wrapped it around, stepped on it, swore at it, had a great time.”

Sylvia deMurias used copper to make jewelry given to her by her son, who works at a copper and slate company. Ever since she took a jewelry class at MassArt she’s been making jewelry, which she sells and exhibits in different shows.

She said she typically spends about three to four hours on each piece, but they can take even longer, accounting for drilling holes and final polishing.

One artist chose to display her art in a very unconventional manner: by wearing it. Jackie Olivia’s piece, The DC/Marvel Superhero Comic Book Dress, was a full dress made out of Marvel and DC comic books, spanning from 1977 to 2008.

“I’ve liked super hero comics since I can remember. My older cousins had them so I remember reading comics back then,” said Olivia.

She sewed them together, using the covers to create the top part of the dress, and the paper pages for the skirt. She said the skirt took 20 hours, and the whole dress consisted of 60 different comic books.

“A lot of the older comics didn’t have as many ads, so I got a little more mileage out of those. I was kind of joking about making a villain costume out of the ads, because I have piles of these ads that I’m not using,” said Olivia.

For last year’s Trash Bash, she wore a dress made out of cards.

Dumbo, by kindergarteners from the Tufts Educational Day Care Center was a replica of Jumbo the elephant, the Tufts University mascot. They built it by stacking boxes, covering it in newspapers, then painting it gray.

Debra McLaughlin said she hopes to make the Trash Bash an annual occurrence at the Uniun Warehouse.

Laura Wilhelm’s “People Trap”

Sylvia deMurias with her copper scrap jewelry

Sharon Armour with her crocheted bags made from dozens of twisted plastic bags

Two of the kindergarten teachers at TEDCC doing last minute repairs on “Dumbo”

— Photos by Jack Adams