Steel, Aluminum, Copper, Stainless, Cast Iron, Brass. So much of our modern world utilizes metal. Once, you start to work in it or start to notice, you see it everywhere.
Where does it come from and where does it go? Well, you know when you see those trucks all loaded up with metal scrap, driving through Oakland? They are often going to one of our very own metal recyclers, right here in town.
CASS is a metal recycler just a few blocks from my shop, in West Oakland. I have both dropped metal off to be recycled there, as well as have connected with them to utilize materials from their gigantic piles of metals of all kinds. CASS is cool cause they are an ethical company dedicated to sustainability. They also happen to be one of the corporate sponsors for my upcoming show Neither Created Nor Destroyed! They have donated tons to the local community and are just generally good people behind all the rending and crushing sounds of metal.
Here is a video of a piece that I made from materials from CASS for the Crucible’s Hot Couture event.
Schnitzer is also a trip as they are one of the biggest metal recyclers in the country and have their own port crane in Oakland. I project managed and installed a sculpture piece in their offices at the port this past summer via the Fuego Youth Program at the Crucible. I mentored 5 high school students in various disicplines to create a wave made from material from the Schnitzer yard. It was an epic undertaking and a really cool way to outreach and have the community get connected with this giant company which is typically difficult to access.