A Normal Heights nonprofit is helping students turn recycled materials into art and giving San Diegans a chance to donate and buy secondhand art supplies.
Art FORM runs summer camps and elementary school classes during the school year. On Friday, campers were building mini art galleries. Some used beads as sculptures and vases. Others built benches out of popsicle sticks.
The materials they use during the camp — paint, canvases, buttons and more — are all donated.
Erin Pennell founded Art FORM more than a decade ago. She said the goal is to make arts education more accessible and eco-friendly.
“The impetus was to start an art studio where kids could come on field trips and feel really at home, and feel like they had a safe, open space with an abundance of materials,” Pennell said. “It really promotes ingenuity, using your imagination, and those kinds of skills not only work great in art, but they carry over into other areas.”
Art FORM accepts donations from individuals and businesses. Pennell said one company recently donated white cardstock they couldn’t use because perforation lines were in the wrong place.
“You can do so many different types of media on it, and we use it all the time,” she said. “This company gave us 5,000 sheets of this paper instead of putting it in the landfill, and now we’re using it in all of our projects.”
Art FORM sells some donations at its store, about half a mile down Adams Avenue from the studio. Proceeds from the store help fund classes and community outreach.
Liliana Hagan started going to Art FORM camp in first grade. Now, at 19, she’s a staff member. She said the store helps artists experiment with materials they might not be able to afford otherwise.
“Paints are really expensive, canvases are really expensive, oil paints are super expensive,” she said. “As someone who’s a student, I always want to challenge myself with new projects, and that requires new materials.”
The store’s inventory of donated fabric, yarn, paper and other supplies is always changing. Volunteers like Patty Finn help organize.
“I love the customers,” Finn said. “I ask them what they’re working on, we exchange ideas, and everybody goes out of here with a smile.”
Pennell said Art FORM has diverted 20 tons of reusable materials so far this year.