You’ve heard the phrase “to turn trash into treasure,” and that’s what one local artist is doing -- literally.
Deborah Hecht creates art out of trash she finds on the beach. Deborah’s artwork includes bottle caps, straws, balloons, plastic toys and much more pieced together to make colorful creations. Her artwork has titles like “Beach Trash Carnival,” “The Beach of Lost Balloons,” and “Beach Trash Sunset”.
Deborah started making art out of beach trash because she says there’s just too much trash. She spends a lot of time cleaning up the beach while walking along Lake Michigan. A few years ago Deborah decided to save the trash and was alarmed at what she collected in one summer, so she decided to do something about it -- in the form of art.
The beach trash art Deborah has made is currently on display in an exhibit at the Huntington Woods Library. The exhibit called “Waste Not Want Not” will be at the library until August 31st. Deborah also has her own studio in Oak Park, which she says will reopen in September. You can see more of Deborah’s art by watching the video above.