The Art Of Trash

We’ve all heard the phrase, “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure,” but to multi-faceted artist, Inger Price, these words are words to live by. Price has been creating amazing art for years by using discarded scraps or “trash” to craft something beautiful. In a world of over abundance, it’s inspiring to see someone doing more with less. Many people lack the knowledge or motivation to reduce, recycle, and reuse, preferring to buy more for the sake of convenience. Sadly our planet is suffering from this.

Price is an entrepreneur whose work is viewable at www.ingerarts.com, and some of her recent accomplishments were featured at the Funky Folks Art Show at the Yuba- Sutter Regional Arts Council gallery in February.

Bad Kitty, a fused glass painting made from scraps sold during the exhibit, along with a palm frond (green waste) mask and several hand painted Valentine’s Day cards. A particularly interesting piece was her 10 foot tall palm tree, constructed from scrap metal waste from the Yuba College welding class. The bins outside of the welding class were spilling over to the point of being dangerous but the school couldn’t or wouldn’t pay to have the metal hauled off so she asked if she could have it to put to use.

Interested in art before she could walk or talk, Price works with many art mediums. She stopped taking formal art classes after learning how to weld, fearful that her creativity would be stifled and corrupted. She states, “There’s been so much talent lost in the broken education system of today.” She’s a strong advocate of free speech and likes to show it through her art.

She enjoys painting, sculpting, welding, sewing, drawing, making folk dolls and doing digital art and custom work for people. Having done some stand-in acting along with doing sets for independent films, Price is recognized on the earth’s largest Internet movie database (IMDB) for her set work on “Book of 1,000 Deaths.” She will go to L.A. in April  to do set work for the movie “Exit 13.” She’s also been featured on several podcasts.

She designed and sold t-shirts for the Olivehurst Car Show and used digital art to create the logos for Duke’s Diner in Olivehurst and  the Marysville Community Gardens, along with making the Flavors sign that hangs in front of our on-campus restaurant. She makes “cake jewelry” and wedding cake toppers (in the likeness of the couple), offered for same sex marriages as well as straight ones, that will soon be available at local businesses. She offers her own line of greeting cards, also available for all types of relationships.

Born in Yuba City, residing in Olivehurst, Price completely supports and works with local businesses, stating that she feels it’s better to be self reliant and boost the economy in our town rather than spending money supporting foreign companies that take money and jobs away from Americans.

It was her world travels and life experiences that contribute to her talent and awareness and she gives everything she can back to the world and the people around her, creating art for the pure enjoyment of it, (rather than for money or publicity).

Being a dedicated volunteer allows Price’s creativity to shine through beyond the “job.” She teaches art classes to local cub scouts, reads to 6th grade children on “Dr. Seuss Day,”  and works with the local sheriff to find out where children are in need so she can bring them art supplies and school supplies, donated by her as well as others. She volunteers for the Yuba County Library and also unofficially mentors and teaches a young girl as well as children in her own neighborhood. She says she enjoys not having a boss or a set schedule almost as much as she enjoys the art business itself because it gives her time to do these things.

When asked what makes art so enjoyable for her, Price responds, “Creativity and art is a snapshot of someones soul as well as a peak into their subconscious mind.” She prefers creating modern art, unique and interesting things rather than replicas of existing items, usually unplanned as they come to her. She quotes Pablo Picasso by saying, “If you know exactly what you are going to do, what’s the point of doing it?”

Many students enter college to gain an education for what they want to do with their lives, yet find themselves more interested in something they never even considered as a career choice. There’s no need to rush; take the time to explore all options that come your way. Learn from the experiences of Inger Price: look at the world as a whole, make a difference, and be an inspiration.