The Goldberg Gallery will host an art installation of Marsha Carlin’s work in October and November. “Adaptive reuse is an approach to life and art that I learned from my parents, who were both children of The Depression. Saving and reusing string, baby food jars to hold nails and screws, and making doll houses from discarded wood scraps eventually influenced my creative process,” says Carlin. “I purposely use nontraditional and repurposed materials to create art, clothing, and accessories.” 

 

“I expanded from what was initially inspired by frugality to realizing how many materials we discard and fill our oceans, landfills, and sewers. By thinking of our discards differently, they can become pieces of art that are a joy to create, display, and wear.”

 

“I love turning toilet paper tubes into bracelets, the paper tubes on dry cleaner hangers into beads wrapped in discarded magazine pages and decorative cocktail napkins; the metal hangers themselves into jewelry; the plastic forms used to display bathing suits at Costco into painted ladies; crushed or pounded metal bottle caps into earrings; and used tea bags into necklaces,” continues Carlin.

 

“Let your imagination go to work the next time you start to throw away a package, a container, or see a stray piece of metal on the street and see how it can be adaptively reused to become something useful differently, or a piece of art or adornment.”

 

Marsha Carlin spent her early career as a Science Policy advisor to the U.S. Congress. She then discovered that she loved teaching and taught biology, math, and Chinese cooking. After thirty-plus years in the classroom, Carlin became an editorial director and vice president of elementary math education at Macmillan/McGraw Publishing in New York City.

 

Art and visuals were constantly engaging and valuable in Carlin’s publishing career to ensure her lessons were visually appealing and accessible to all students regardless of abilities.

 

Marsha and her husband, Jim, recently retired full-time to their home in Pea Porridge Pond in New Hampshire, where she enjoys the Mt. Washington Valley artist community and repurposing materials into artistic and creative pieces. 

The Goldberg Gallery is open to the public by appointment only.