My first DA journal post! [actually copy and pasted from my blog] [link]

In the spirit of Halloween [and all things dressing up] I've decided today is as good as any to bring up my most recent Personal Project aka 'Self Sustaining'.
[Bear with while I go over the serious stuff first!]

It all started with a question. 'What item do you see often thrown away when it could or should be recycled in regards to your work, home or lifestyle?'
The answers weren't shocking; cans, newspapers, plastic bags, bottles, etc etc. The research however, was frightening. In fact, according the EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency), less than 8% of total plastic bottles are recycled-combine that with the fact that Americans use nearly 2.5 million plastic bottles PER HOUR and it takes one bottle 450-1000 years to biodegrade, we have ourselves a huge problem.

That's where my photo project comes in, heading back to my Fine Art roots, I'm combining my skills as a photographer, prop stylist, and crafter to create a series focusing on the up-cycling of these commonly thrown away items. Original concepts with handmade pieces that will eventually be placed into a coffee table book and a gallery show. Much more is expected to come out of this, so stay tuned to see where this ends up, and how you can help make a difference!

The project is expected to take over a year to complete. Each concept takes between 20-100 hours to execute between story-boarding, sketching, design and construction, hair and makeup, shooting and post processing. Currently there are 60 concepts with more developing daily. The name 'Self Sustaining' comes from the fact that I myself am taking on every step of the process! From story-boarding to creating to hair and makeup to modeling and of course photographing the series!

I'd love to hear your thoughts, suggestions and questions, so make sure you leave a comment or email me and I promise to keep you updated on developments of the project!

First teaser: [cover concept] "cereal"

A series of masks and accessories were created for this shoot [one pictured], 3D triangles created using a total of 9 cereal boxes and archival glue. Roughly 3 hours for creation of the accessories. All materials were up-cycled from finished cereal boxes from multiple families.

Thanks so much for the support and kind words from everyone in this community! I'm excited for this project, and the potential for great things to come from it! I would love and encourage everyone to head to my original blog post [link] and share on facebook or twitter! The more viral it gets, the more potential for change to come about! Thank you!
-ariana