The Center for Teaching and Learning hosted Kim Bernard, a nationally-recognized sculptor and installation artist, as a visiting-artist on Friday, May 9. While instructing a course at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in 2023, Ms. Bernard presented about her “recycled, kinetic, interactive art installations” that she created in Maine communities, with a special emphasis on “transforming plastic waste into sculpture using her portable recycling machines.”

CTL humanities teacher and arts specialist, Angela Lathem-Ballard, was in attendance for Ms. Bernard's presentation, and was inspired by her Trash to Art collaborations.

“I knew that our students would be inspired by Kim Bernard's interactive sculptures and her environmental advocacy. What an incredible opportunity to reflect on how much plastic we use each day, and how we can reduce our consumption and waste of plastics.”

As a visiting artist, Kim introduced her PopUpCycler, then demonstrated how to use the shredder and extruder to upcycle student-gathered plastics into a collaborative, sculptural installation for the school. “The machines are only one component of a much larger initiative,” says Bernard, “to create art using recycled materials that transcend their history. I hope that all of my installations are first captivating, mesmerizing, inspiring, and only subsequently does the viewer know that the materials were recycled.”

More info can be found at Kim Bernard's website: https://www.kimbernard.com