George j Reitbauer

Material Mashing:
While listening to your show on NPR, the broadcast titled “Material Mashing” struck a cord for me. I teach art and create assemblages in my studio. I stress to my students that creativity is frequently simply a matter of letting go and being open to your environment and the action of play is part of my means to the ends.

My Example:
One fall day, I was using my mechanical tree trimmer in my back yard. The trimmer is the kind of mechanical device on a long pole, where you pull the rope and it cuts the branch. I noticed a squirrel up in the tree; it was busy trying to open a black walnut. I realized we were both using a jaw of sorts! This was inspirational for me, “a bio-mechanical jaw” moment! I scaled up the tree trimmer mechanics for my design, found some large pig teeth in my studio, and along with some clay and assorted found objects, created a working mashed-together Nutcracker. I don't know if it's fantastic, but it was definitely a “Spark” moment for me!