Got Trash? Cranberry Kicks Off 'Garby Awards' Recycled Art Contest

For years, the Cranberry Area Council for the Arts hosted events in the area, including a juried arts festival at Community Park.

“We had vendors, just like the one in downtown Pittsburgh,” reminisced arts council founder Dorothy Fitzpatrick. “We had things on stage and musical groups.”

But with judging, carting around the pieces and more, Fitzpatrick said putting on the shows was no easy task. Through the years, the number of people willing to volunteer their time to the show dwindled.

“There was no one left to do all the heavy-duty stuff,” Fitzpatrick said,

Much to her disappointment, the group eventually disbanded, and the money the arts council had in escrow, about $1,000, was given to the nonprofit Cranberry Township Community Chest.

Now, five years after the group ended, the arts council has a chance at new life through a collection of paper, cardboard and glass bottles.

is partnering with the Community Chest for the Garby Awards, the second of what’s planned to be an annual competition for artwork crafted from recyclable materials. Proceeds from the event will be used for the startup of the revitalized Cranberry Council for the Arts.

Fitzpatrick, who is an artist and resides at the Sherwood Oaks Retirement Home, is cheering on the effort. She even has offered her services as a mentor once the group gets going.

“I’m a wealth of knowledge,” she said.

The recycled art competition was the brainchild of Community Chest treasurer, and township supervisor, Bruce Mazzoni.

Mazzoni, who said he always wanted to revitalize the arts council, came up with the idea after seeing a sculpture created entirely from cans. Because of Cranberry’s strong environmental programs, he thought an art competition using recycled materials was a perfect fit for the community.

“We’re so proud of our recycling effort for the township, I thought, ‘You know what, this could be a nice event,’” he said.

The first year, Mazzoni said they had more than a dozen contest entries, including tulips he crafted using Coca-Cola bottles, a piece he did not allow to be judged.

“I just did it to give an example and some motivation, but it turned out really well,” he said.

Lorin Meeder, Cranberry’s environmental projects coordinator, recalled a 2-foot chess piece one of the winning contestants made from magazine pages. Other entries included a windmill of soda cans, an under-the-sea scene that used newspapers and other colorful bits of paper, and Christmas decorations made from old butter containers.

“We have got some really artistic people living in the township,” Meeder said.

He expects even more entries before this year’s July 8 awards ceremony at the township , for which he’ll be master of ceremonies. He said the judges would look for creativity, use of the materials and uniqueness-factor when assessing the entries.

“I expect some really neat stuff and just some fun stuff,” he said.

Mazzoni hopes the arts council not only will be reformed but  that its members will bring their creative touch to landmarks in the community.

“I think we’d be a better community with it,” he said. “I think we lost a lot when we lost the council.”

If you plan to enter the contest:

Entries in the competition are to be made exclusively of items eligible for recycling in Cranberry Township –bottles, jars, paperboard containers, food and beverage cans, paper and cardboard.

The materials may be fastened together into either lifelike or abstract forms, according to the judgment of the artist.

Clubs, classes and organizations, as well as individual artists, are eligible to participate in the competition.

There are no age or residency restrictions. The top three winners will receive cash awards: $250 for first place, $100 for second, $50 for third.

An entry fee of $10 must accompany applications. Art entries may be delivered to the Municipal Center in advance of Community Days starting June 15. A panel of judges will select the winners on July 8.