CR Portugal Award Lecture by Garth Johnson





CR faculty member Garth Johnson will present a lecture as part of the College's annual Portugal Award lecture series. Garth's lecture will take place on Friday, November 20 at the CR Mendocino campus room 112 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.




Garth's lecture will be based on his new book en­titled 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse that features 1000 different projects by artists, designers and craftsmen from around the world that incorporate reused, recycled or repurposed items. Putting the book together was a la­bor of love, as he sifted through over 7,000 entries. Garth will shape his book into a lecture that covers both historical and contemporary aspects of creative reuse.



The lecture will have a global focus, including not only historical examples of reuse, but also examples from developing cultures, where creative reuse is a way of life. This lecture will encourage listeners to reexamine their own habits and ecological footprint, but in an engaging and fun way.



Garth writes about craft and art for magazines like Readymade and CRAFT. He has contributed to books like Handmade Nation from Princeton Architectural Press. He enjoys being one of a select group of writers covering the gray area be­tween craft and art. The Creative Reuse book and lecture are central to current trends in eco-consciousness and sustainable living. Newspapers and magazines have been filled with articles about thrifty people who are dealing with the eco­nomic downturn through reusing and making their own clothing and housewares.



"The North Coast has a proud history of hand­made culture" says Johnson. "Even though inexpensive manu­factured goods are readily available, many people choose to make their own clothing, furniture, accessories and even houses". Many local and regional artists are included in the book.



Garth Johnson is a studio artist, writer and educator who lives in Eureka, California. In addition to maintaining the website Extreme Craft (www.extremecraft.com) Garth's writing has been featured in museum catalogs, magazines and books worldwide. His first book, 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse has just been published by Quarry/Rockport publishers. His DVD, ReVision: Recycled Crafts for Earth-Friendly Living was released by Eyekiss Films earlier this year. His artwork was also recently featured in a solo exhibition at the Clay Studio in Philadelphia, PA.

Garth received a BFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an MFA from Alfred University. He has taught at Georgia State University, Columbus State University and is currently an assistant professor at College of the Redwoods in Eureka. In addition to teaching, he is a sought-after lecturer and visiting artist, with recent lectures at Ohio State, Virginia Commonwealth and Louisiana State Universities.




For more information, please call 707-476-4177.





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Garth Johnson

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