{"id":8462,"date":"2013-10-24T13:11:44","date_gmt":"2013-10-24T17:11:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=8462"},"modified":"2013-10-24T14:17:53","modified_gmt":"2013-10-24T18:17:53","slug":"harvest-arts-fest-fuses-area-artists-businesses-at-mogreena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=8462","title":{"rendered":"MoGreena arts fest fuses area artists, businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Waste Oil Recyclers look to channel locals’ energy to create energy for locals<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

By Kyle Carrozza<\/strong><\/span>, Staff Writer, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Artist<\/a>

Artist Paula J. Myers-McDevitt discusses her work with an observer.<\/p><\/div>\n

MODENA \u2013 Electricity, art, food, fuel, creativity, cultural movement\u2014all of these things require the management of energy.<\/p>\n

At their site in Modena, better known as MoGreena, Waste Oil Recyclers channeled the energy of their surroundings during their Second Annual Harvest Art Party on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

The Waste Oil Recyclers, an organization that turns used cooking oil into biofuel, brought together nearby artists and businesses to promote their cause of finding sustainable energy sources and supporting the local economy.<\/p>\n

With beer from Victory Brewing, food from caterer Sarah Sinton, and music by Sam Smick, the evening took on the feel of a backyard barbecue where the neighbors consisted of brewers, cooks, musicians, and artists.<\/p>\n

MoGreena Chief Seed Planter Jimmy Lee Bricker said that bringing together individuals with varied backgrounds helped in putting together Wednesday night\u2019s event as well as helping MoGreena in many of its endeavors in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you get a lot of people that are very impassioned about a lot of different things that overlap together, it is intense, it\u2019s big,\u201d he said of the site, which houses multiple businesses. \u201cYou see woodworkers working with metalworkers. You see diesel mechanics working with soil producers. You see soil producers feeding back into the woodworkers, and everyone\u2019s always feeding into one another in some positive way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Director of Communications Brenda McNeil said that the event was not just the result of efforts at MoGreena but also a means to garner community involvement.<\/p>\n

\"Along<\/a>

Along with contributions from local artists, MoGreena had its own art around the site, including this “Tim Burton-esque” pumpkin display.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cBringing people here sets the example; our mission every day, we recycle everything, we repurpose everything,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The idea of recycling and repurposing energy and objects was present not just in the hosting site but also in the art and even the walls the art was displayed on, made of repurposed pallets covered in burlap.<\/p>\n

Recycling also fed into the creative processes of many of the artists present on the night.<\/p>\n

Paula J. Myers-McDevitt, who also writes fashion and costume design textbooks, uses pieces of costumes, fabrics, and paper to create stylized collage-like pieces.<\/p>\n

Collagist Annie Sinton uses scrap glass to create her pieces. She said that her collages are not only influenced by but depend on discarded items and materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey make my creative process. I\u2019m forced to use them, so the only thing I can do is change the shape,\u201d Sinton said.<\/p>\n

Jeweler Tara Segar agreed. Segar uses natural gems and minerals to create jewelry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has to be more organic that way and more authentic,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I find something, then I can create a piece around it versus looking for something to make.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caterer Sarah Sinton, who cooked for MoGreena every week over the summer, said that she finds her inspiration and ingredients from the site itself. On Wednesday night, she incorporated spinach and sweet potatoes from the organic garden.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything is centered around what is growing currently,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re limited by what is growing at the time; those limitations force you to figure out what to do with the things that are available to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The evening\u2019s energy was not just about individual businesses and artists but polarizing the impetus to change the local community.<\/p>\n

\"Art<\/a>

Art included paintings, jewelry, and collages, many of which used recycled materials.<\/p><\/div>\n

Woodburner Eddie Aaronson, who was displaying his art for the first time on Wednesday, said that not only did he talk to multiple artists interested in collaborating, but many of the attendees in general shared a \u00a0similar passion for the local community.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody I\u2019ve spoken to is like-minded. They\u2019re all about giving back. It\u2019s all about just bettering the community in general,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bricker said that his organization wants to build a mutually beneficial relationship with its surroundings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this benefits Modena, MoGreena, Coatesville, and all the surrounding areas by providing an incubator for small businesses,\u201d he said. \u201cThe kids that come from the surrounding community are always excited. They\u2019re excited about eating the food they helped plant and grow, and in many instances bringing that food or seeds back to their home to start their own gardens.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that in the future he hopes that MoGreena can help get residents positively involved in Modena while also providing sustainable electricity and food for those residents.<\/p>\n

Such ambitions require a litany of resources, efforts, and people to cooperate, but whether because of the passions and collaborations involved, MoGreena is equipped with the force that puts everything in motion\u2014energy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Waste Oil Recyclers look to channel locals’ energy to create energy for locals By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times MODENA \u2013 Electricity, art, food, fuel, creativity, cultural movement\u2014all of these things require the management of energy. At their site in Modena, better known as MoGreena, Waste Oil Recyclers channeled the energy of their surroundings […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[3005,21,272],"class_list":["post-8462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-biofuel","tag-modena","tag-waste-oil-recyclers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}