What to do With Garbage

I can't stop thinking about this artist, Ben Wilson, who Ari and I almost tripped over on our way home from school a few weeks ago.  I first noticed him on my way there just walking by. He was a big presence. He had so many colors of paint wiped onto and all over his painters pants, I just had to say, "I love your colors".  "Many thanks!", he said back.  And that was that.  I remember being a tinge jealous because I love to paint and I use tons of colors when I do. But I don't do it often enough at all. And here was this guy, totally immersed and just wearing his color-stained clothes doing whatever it is he does.

After I collected Ari from school, we were heading home and at the end of the block, there was the same guy I'd noticed just 15 minutes before.  But now he was lying face down on the ground taking up a lot of sidewalk space. He was staring straight into the sidewalk.  First I thought, "Oh my god the nice painter guy fell down. That's so weird!"  There were a few people around him with their iPhones out taking pictures. Then I saw this gorgeous small palette of colors and a blow torch. Further investigation was absolutely in order.  We learned that he was painting old disgusting pieces of gum stuck on the sidewalk. Yuck!

If you live in a city, the next time you go out, take a look at the sidewalk for gum. There are black spots of ancient pieces of discarded gum everywhere.   I looked around that day and couldn't even figure out how this guy could pick which ones to paint; there were so many choices!  But that day, he chose to adorn one not far from our school entrance. He paints littles designs or messages using enamel paints and then heats it till it's really in the gum and so just stuck there forever. He makes these gross pieces of discarded trash into these charming works of art accessible to everyone (or at least to observant people).

This is a brilliant example of what to do when life gives you garbage.  No matter how gross or messed up things are, there's always an opportunity. His little pieces of art prove it.  He proves that you can figure out a way to take the essence of a "problem" and make something better or completely different out of it.

If you can, copy and paste the link at the bottom of this entry and it'll take you to a New York Times article about Ben Wilson.

Thanks for reading today. Just didn't feel like writing about bone marrow transplants, even though they are also very cool.

Still got Frampton stuck in my head. "Putting my heart on the line...Show me a sign...".  I'm definitely looking for a sign. Even just something little would be fine.



Link to Ben Wilson:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/world/europe/14muswell.html?_r=1