Imagine, if you will, a world where words like recycling and sustainability are no longer novel but are deeply entrenched in everyday life and society in general. A world where bottle caps, paper scraps, bits of cloth and found objects inspire art for art’s sake. A world where a back jeans pocket can become a kitchen mitt or a small carry-all. That’s what a group of people at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library have been doing since 2019 in a program geared towards seeking a more sustainable community.
Springing forth from discussions around the themes of sustainability, recycling, global warming and related topics, the group, populated by several artists, opened up the conversation, inviting one and all to join in an art exhibit solely featuring works created from a variety of materials. On September 1, the library hosted its annual recycled art reception.
Ranging in age from the very young to those reaching the peak of their maturity, participants included Barb Van Wegen, Leo and Bethany Couto, Lizzie and Christine Flannery, Laurie Despres, Freya Lombard, Alice Cooper, Nancy Mitchell Anderson, Phoebe Girard, Juniper Griswold and Georgia Paull.
But there is a larger story afoot here. In January 2021, Jennifer Jones, Mattapoisett’s former library director, hit on a topic to which she believed the community would respond.
“In January 2021, I applied for a grant from the Richard & Ann J. Prouty Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Co-Trustee, to fund a sustainability initiative for the library. We were awarded funding in May,” Jones shared.
According to Jones, the library acquired and hosted programs through April 2021. The library also began an important initiative to encourage recycling, which also ran through April 2021.
Identifying a resource material, Jones said at that time, “I looked for a title that would be a good book for a community-wide discussion, and upon finding Regeneration Ending: The Climate Crisis in One Generation’ by Paul Hawken, I thought it would be suitable because climate change is an important topic of interest for this geographical area.”
Jones said she contacted the creators of the website for the book. The result was Jones was able to purchase and distribute at no cost to interested parties copies of the book to jumpstart local discussion and possibly even inspire local solutions.
“I figured there would be some in the community who would be very interested in climate change and sustainability,” she said.
Jones admitted that the pandemic made communication a bit more problematic, but by hosting virtual gatherings people were able to come together and share their thoughts and ideas.
On January 8, Jones held a remote meeting. Focusing on various chapters in the book ranging from sea-forestation to the sustainability of various types of forests, from human impacts on the planet to energy use and alternative sources, the group tackled food production and the food industry.
Jones began the January 8, 2021, discussion by stating that “big food” (a term used for processed-food production and factory farms) contributes 9% of methane immersions globally. A shockingly high number, all agreed.
The group talked about waste in the food industry with several participants saying their work at food pantries where businesses donate vast amounts of food is an example of overproduction and fear of expiration dates. Participants were alarmed to consider the amount of food that is merely thrown away.
At the time, the library collected nonperishable food in lieu of fine payments, one small step in assisting food distribution to those in need.
Others thought that a community garden might be useful is helping people who can’t easily travel to the grocery store to get fresh vegetables during the growing season. This led to questions on the potential use of space at the town-owned Holy Ghost grounds located off Park Street.
Nathan Ketchel, a member of the Planning Board and of the Master Plan Committee, said that during their discussions a community garden was suggested as well. That 2021 idea has since come to pass, as the town earmarks space in recently acquired former farmlands for a community garden.
As they continued to drill more deeply into topics, there came a point where most agreed that politics and pressure on congressional and House of Representative leaders stymied efforts to find new ways to produce and distribute food.
When Jones asked if there were ways that local people could impact policymakers, one participant indicated that it would be difficult, given that politicians are “owned” by lobbyists. It was noted that the For the People Act, first introduced by John Sarbanes in 2019, sought to expand voting rights, change campaign finance laws and create new ethics rules.
The group continued in this vein discussing local politics and the lack of public interest or input in such matters as zoning bylaws and the efforts on the part of the League of Women Voters to engage the public in government issues that impact local communities.
“People need to understand what it is to be a citizen,” one participant implored at that time. There were other thoughts and questions regarding the planet’s ability to sustain life, given the growing numbers of humans from approximately 374,000,000 in the 1500s to nearly 8,000,000,000 in 2021.
Imagine, if you will, a group of artists who have taken this message to heart. They have taken words like recycling and sustainability and applied them to everyday life. Bottle caps, paper scraps, bits of cloth and found objects inspire their art.
The 2024 exhibit at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library has once again demonstrated that creativity and the creation of art are not exclusive to paint on canvas. Van Wegen used leftover fabric pieces for a quilt, Couto used bottle caps, juice packets, wood, soda bottles and more to create a sculpture of posies.
Despres and Mitchell Anderson created a “junk journals,” layering lace, fabric and paper, resulting in pages of intricate splendor. Approximately life-sized, Lombard’s turtle was an antipollution commentary using cardboard, paper and paints. Cooper recycled jeans into utilitarian objects, and Girard constructed a Mystery of Nature and a Landscape Memory from felt, cardboard and a recycled frame.
Dancing in the Night, created by Griswold, incorporated the use of feathers, beads, zip ties and a glass bottle to name a few items. And six-year-old Paull made Aquaria a lovely sea creature from sea glass, broken jewelry, paper scraps and cardboard.
The library’s new director, Colleen Tierney, said she intends to keep the sustainability concept and group going forward. Anyone interested in the program, which is currently being restructured, is welcome to contact the director at 508-758-4171 or at ctierney@sailsinc.org.
Mattapoisett Free Public Library
By Marilou Newell