Kids turn trash into art at Wrightsville Beach camp

By Katie Dickens

Intern

Palm trees fashioned from bottle caps and plastic trash hidden under sand are part of Jazz Undy’s art camp curriculum that aims to teach children the importance of taking care of the beach by keeping it clean.

The camp, which began six weeks ago and will continue for the rest of the summer, meets every Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m. The day typically begins with the kids deciding what they want to create, then heading out to the beach to collect trash and shells for their 3D landscape art.

“The kids make an artfill instead of a landfill,” said Undy, the local artist and art teacher who runs the camp. “The kids see it like it’s a game. They pick up shells, bottle caps, trash and anything else they see and they get really creative.”

The children had multiple options to choose from for their creation last Wednesday, including hand art, painted sailboat scenes, or decorated flip flops. Previous camps have focused on painting sea turtles on canvas, and another lesson involved creating bottle cap palm trees. The majority of the trash that is collected on the beach is incorporated into the art by hiding it inside the piece.

Undy, who sells his recycling-based art at his gallery, in downtown Wrightsville beside Roberts Market, says his inspiration for his own 3D art came from a trip to Indonesia two years ago.

“After I saw the conditions of the ocean there, ocean detox really became my motto,” he said. “When I got back, I got the store space at Wrightsville Beach. I feel like it’s my responsibility to the planet to focus on detoxing the ocean. The phrase ocean detox is really also a double entendre because people also come to the beach to detox.”

One of the eight kids who participated July 27 was Kajsa Andersson, age 12. Andersson has attended the camps for five weeks with her younger sister Peyton, age 9, who said she barely has enough space in her room left for her new art.

Andersson said she enjoys the environmental lessons Undy teaches that accompany the art.

“I’ve learned a lot about the environment and how to keep it safe,” she said.

Jim Radle, Undy’s business neighbor at 22 North Restaurant, brought the kids pink lemonade as a treat while they painted beach scenes. Radle allows the group to paint inside his restaurant when they can’t paint outside and lets parents park in his lot.

“I’ve been living beachside for about a dozen years now,” Radle said. “It’s frustrating when I see adults and kids throwing their trash on the beach. A lot of times they’re just here on vacation, but we live here.”

Radle added that he thinks the camp has taught his kids a valuable lesson about living on the beach.

“The kids are being taught awareness at a young age,” Radle said. “If they’re taught to pick up trash on the beach and care for it, that will stick with them for the rest of their life.”

Nancy Norvol, owner of an art school in Raleigh, moved to Wrightsville Beach this year. She helps out at the camps and has a daughter who attends.

“The kids get so excited about the mission and about the trash pick-up,” Norvol said. “It’s sometimes hard to feel like you’re making a difference, but it’s important to remember that every little bit helps.”