"Fish For Thought"

Summer at Penland School

noreply@blogger.com (Rodney "Rodrigo" McCoubrey) — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 18:18:00 +0000

This summer july 2010 i shared the priveledge of co-teaching with one of the true elders of the clay tribe George Kokis at Penland School in North Carolina. An experience that continues to live within me... check out the blog that was set up about the class http://clay-myth.blogspot.com/

contact info....

noreply@blogger.com (Rodney "Rodrigo" McCoubrey) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:06:00 +0000

rodney@rodrigosrecycledart.com
www.rodrigosrecycledart.com

Corazoncitos "Little Hearts"

noreply@blogger.com (Rodney "Rodrigo" McCoubrey) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:40:00 +0000

Every once and a while I get stuck so instead of sketching I make things, and these little hearts somehow led me to my next project.
Gracias a las corazoncitos!

Nails, paintcan lid, and rusted crud.

Rusted nails, bolts, wire, and metal conduit.

Old broom handle, rusted nails, bottle caps, and an old paintbrush.

Rusted nails, bottle caps, and diamond plate.

Old jump rope, metal curtain hangers, and notebook thingies.

ENCINITAS GREEN SPRING FLOWER THING WORKSHOP

noreply@blogger.com (Rodney "Rodrigo" McCoubrey) — Fri, 28 May 2010 04:16:00 +0000

OK HERE'S HOW THIS Workshop WENT DOWN...First of all i gathered scrap plywood then cut and painted some 30 or more flowers. attendees of the workshop were asked to bring enough trash to decorate one flower. items such as old toys, beach trash, bottle caps, wire plastic, plates, and old junk in general. A bunch of helpers showed up and being as it was a parent/child workshop all went real smoothly. thanks to all who participated. Now the next layer of this project will be a bunch of insects all decorated by our community at encinitas environment day june 6 2010. they all will be exhibited outside the Encinitas Library for approximately one year.. ya hooooooo

HARD AT WORK OR IS THAT PLAY?

A PARENT CHILD WORKSHOP

ALL THINGS WERE ATTACHED EITHER BY STAPLING OR SCREWED ON...

SUNGLASSES POPSICLE STICKS

EVERY FLOWER WAS A UNIQUE ONE OF A KIND

THE END RESULTS WERE ASTONISHING CANT WAIT FOR THE REST OF THE PIECES TO BE FINISHED...

DeL MaR HillS aCAdemY fLOweR PoWEr exHIbITIoN 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Rodney "Rodrigo" McCoubrey) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 04:29:00 +0000

trash more trash

texture

color

fun

5th grade class flower

fun

color

texture

dEL MaR HilLs AcaDEmY flower Power ExhibiT 2010

texture and more color

butterflys and flowers

Del Mar Hills Academy Flower Power Exhibit

teens and more texture

young fun and a colorful

COLor TexTure Fun Children OceaN inspiRatTioN NaTurE and MorE fuNnnnn!...

all the helpers

drill squad

discerning trash

laying the design out

where should i put this trash?

toddlers really enjoyed the colors and textures

love this shot mom dad kids in background going surfing

OK Here'S how this project went down... first OF all i had To coMe up wiTh a concept and a garDen thEME seeMed to be the idea that stuck. so i made a template of a simple flower shape then with the help of del mar super mom's becky dEllEr and Mara biCkett and mYseLf collected Scrap plywoOd from vaRioUs construCtIon sites. I then proceeded to cut out #350 fLOwers which turned my right forearm into a version of popeye. I liGHtly sanDed theM and thEn based coated and ColoR coated each piece for each class K thru 6... ThE KIds theN hand PaiNted their InDividual flowers and were asked to collect enough trash to decorate their flower We regrouped and a sMall army of parent worker bees showed up at the Del Mar HIlls academy and spent some 6 hours applying trash to the flower by stapling and screwing in the varied pieces. AfTer that they all were hung in The main builDing so as all could enjoy them. after that beckY and mAra attached a small metal disk to the back and we then brought all of them to powerhaouse ParK and hung them on small bamboo stakes. Phew amazing..

2 things I beLieVe in aRt and California

"2009 Coastal Champion Youth Honoree Award"

noreply@blogger.com (Rodney "Rodrigo" McCoubrey) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:21:00 +0000

2009 Coastal Champion Awards Coastkeeper is proud to celebrate the accomplishment's of this year's Coastal Champion Honorees.Coastal Champion Business Honoree - Hubbell and Hubbell Architects Coastal Champion Youth Honoree - Fish for Thought, Mara Bickett and Becky DellerCoastal Champion Community Honorees - Dr. Tony Haymet, Director, Scripps Institution of OceanographyMargarita Diaz, Proyecto Fronte de Educacion Ambiental
The coveted Coastal Champion Awards are given annually to dedicated community, business and youth leaders throughout the San Diego whose outstanding accomplishments have helped to protect and restore our coastal environment.
Coastal Champion Youth Honoree

Fish for Thought is an environmental art project that raises awareness about the negative impact trash has on our oceans and marine life in elementary school students, their families and the community. Mara Bickett, Becky Deller and Sara Wingate, parents from Del Mar Hills Academy, conceived of a project in which grade K-6 schoolchildren would collect trash from the beach and home and turn it into beautiful artwork to highlight the problem of trash on our beaches. At an educational assembly, children discussed the problems caused by plastic in the ocean and the need to reduce, reinvent, reuse, and recycle. More than 400 Del Mar elementary school students worked with recycled trash artist Rodrigo, aka, Rodney McCoubrey to create their masterpieces on used recycled wood fish "blanks.” With help from the Del Mar Lifeguards, the fish were mounted on sticks and planted every 10 feet, lining the one-mile length of Del Mar beach. On May 30th, the project culminated in the "Fish Sticks" exhibition, accompanied by a community beach clean-up, and brought a poignant visual message about environmentalism to the greater Del Mar community. Coastkeeper is pleased to recognize Fish for Thought for educating the community and empowering students to become the environmental stewards of tomorrow .

check out this clip http://www.blip.tv/file/2767765

I was out of town for the awards celebration so of course i had these beautiful woman receive it. What an effort/fun project and a truly amazing group of people that helped put it all together

Muchismas Gracias !!!

How to describe beautiful = Mara, Becky, and Sara Oh yeah!!!

encinitas community flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Rodney "Rodrigo" McCoubrey) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:14:00 +0000

sO fOR THE
eNCINITAs eNVIRONMeNT dAY WE dECIDED TO CrEATE FLoweRs For The coMMuniTY to DecoRate and this is what we Came Up With..collect LoTs oF PlasTic bottLeCaps and CorKs
Cut out Shapes add paiNt and FUn an wallAH coMmunitY FLowerS

more caps and corKs

a group of us started them in my back yard

take a bunch of plastIc Trash anD ThiS Is the waY they TurNed out!!!

The FLOwerS in PlACe the SiTe

floWeR PoWEr

step by step "how a fish is made"

noreply@blogger.com (Rodney "Rodrigo" McCoubrey) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:55:00 +0000

and the finish product is one funky fun fish!

tail &

gotee

add fins

give it an eye

add color

base-coat the piece

cut out a shape

start with trash... old plywood, plastics from the beach, paint can lid rusty nails and wire, old Colorado license plate and sum paint...

SuMmer ARt WorKsHop

noreply@blogger.com (Rodney "Rodrigo" McCoubrey) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:33:00 +0000

wow was trhis a fun fun fun workshop so many cool fish were made. thanks
encinitas library

Encinitas Library

noreply@blogger.com (Rodney "Rodrigo" McCoubrey) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:31:00 +0000

Remember your A B C's"Always Be Cool"

These are my first 2 walls completed for the Encinitas Library Childrens section, commissioned by Edco Waste management. There will 4 in total.The 13ft. tall wall has fish with #s 1 thru 10 hidden on individual fish. The curved reading area wall has each color of the rainbow represented in a fish and one fish has all the colors together. The bubbles coming out of their mouths spell out the alphabet. all photos compliments of.... http://www.reinaldophotography.com/

thanksE D C O

the ehhibition at del mar 2009 "FiShstiCKs"

noreply@blogger.com (Rodney "Rodrigo" McCoubrey) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:45:00 +0000

well there it was a wet grey day in the month of may, 400 hundred fish on sticks lining the high tide line for about a mile long at Del Mar beach in southern California. It was an effort that brought together a truly wonderful group of people. Yes from the original core group to the many extended helping hands this exhibition went off without a hitch. Never ever would i have dreamt of putting together such an immense display, yet the vision and persistence of a couple of Amazing Del Mar MOMS {and their families and friends}fearlessly led the way to a wonderous exhibition... And at the very end of that cold and dreary day on the 30Th of may 2009 i was humbled and felt quite honored to be a part of it all. So to all those who helped make this dream come together,and "you know who you are" deep from my heart to each and every single one of you "MUchIsIMas GrAciAS" becky pat mara rodrigo

And the Del Mar lifeguards gave rides to all those who dared enter the cool waters and mild waves. What a treat... and their help putting up and taking down the fish sticks exhibition was utterly astounding!!!!

every hundred yards there were signs educating the masses to some of our environmental problems. This was a definite bonus, and was very well received by the public

a mile of fishies pretty darn cool!

just imagine sisters inspiring their younger siblings...

I was born in CALIFORNIA and I love this state...

a young trash-picker-upper

many participated as the city sponsored a beach clean up that same day....

when they found their own fish it was so exiting for them together parents & children enjoyed the walk and talk...

and i even painted a few t-shirt's for the event, what fun....

Becky Rodrigo Mara

adios til next time

enjoying the many textures of trash

noreply@blogger.com (Rodney "Rodrigo" McCoubrey) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:06:00 +0000

it never ceases to amaze me how creativity sparks a child's imagination.. it's an individual dance partnered with trash ha ha ha.

and no one told them no it was yes yes yes, and thus the project exceeded all expectations.

layers upon layers of fun.

just imagine if fish for thought could hit the inner cities or far away lands it would be a school of fun and consciousness educating the masses about rethinking what we use and ways of reinventing things before they're simply thrown away...

it's was so unique how each child utilized their own layers of trash.., such as an old watch, toys ,shells, varied colors of paint,and lots of extra creative fun!!! prego lid foil bottle cap

nuts foil paperclips balloon

yarn and plastics

bottle caps plastic old toys

and somehow it all ended up one of a kind recycled art...please enjoy the visual ride !!!!!

the process

noreply@blogger.com (Rodney "Rodrigo" McCoubrey) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 03:30:00 +0000

WE HAD fun FUN

F U N
fun

FUN

FU N

fun FUN
FUN

and more fun!!!

it all started with and educational assembly on recycling...

then we collected scrap plywood and the fish were cut out , followed by prepping, primering , and painting them. the children then collected trash and the volunteers and i returned a week later to help them decorate their individual pieces. here's some random photos of the "fish for thought project", enjoy... the basic shape

fish ready to swim

kids at play

art drying out

art on display

so as you can see this project involves a community of people to make it all come together and the rewards are many.

who has more Fun than us? we do !!!!!

"Sunset Screening 2009"

noreply@blogger.com (Rodney "Rodrigo" McCoubrey) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 02:18:00 +0000

http://www.andrewaguirre.com/surfride.html This is a little gem was created by my bro Andrew Aguirre...Check it out!!! and pick up trash!

Fish For Thought Promo Video

noreply@blogger.com (Rodney "Rodrigo" McCoubrey) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 18:30:00 +0000

heres a few fotos of our famed documentary man for the whole "fish for thought project" JON COFINAS. What an amazingly talented and gifted film maker. And really cool guy!...Also thanks to Tracy Phillips who assisted Jon along the way.

TIME TO BEGIN

noreply@blogger.com (Rodney "Rodrigo" McCoubrey) — Sat, 16 May 2009 02:52:00 +0000

Well Well Well, so begins the first little entry on the "FISH FOR THOUGHT" blog... you might be wondering about the photo of the Peruvian rug and what it represents to me. I'd been looking for a fish design that i could use as a template, one that was easy to cutout,bold, yet simple. And low and behold on an old Peruvian rug lying on my galllery floor it appeared... What happened next was the beginning of my first full scaled educational/environmental art project. From word of mouth after viewing a permanent fish art display of mine at the Encintas Library a group of really cool and very proactive Del Mar school Moms contacted me with a proposal of first giving an assembly on recycling and then an art project that would integrate a community of 380 children ranging from kindergarten through grade 6 along with some very helpful parents and family members. Thus began, "FISH FOR THOUGHT".
check out my artwork at www.rodrigosrecycledart.com