People riding bicycles leave their bike at valet service at the entrance to Point State Park. Volunteers from Bike Pgh carefully tag each bike and keep bikes safe as visitors enjoy the festival. “People know us,” said Bricker, “They know that we are not going away, and they trust us.”

This is the second year for the valet service, but Bike Pgh is not new to the idea.  We’ve done between 12 and 20 valet events since 2005,” said Scott Bricker, executive director of Bike Pittsburgh, “We were one of the first bike groups in the country to start offering this service.”

The valet served nearly 300 bikes last Saturday, its busiest day so far. “Replacing car trips reduces congestion in the city, congestion, decreases carbon dioxide emissions, burns calories and saves riders money,” said Bricker.

The idea began four years ago when the festival first implemented green initiatives. “There were no bike racks that year,” said Bricker, “We wrote a blog post about that and the Cultural Trust responded. They reached out to us and invited us to get involved.”

Bike Pgh Bike Valet at Three Rivers Arts Festival – Images by Renee Rosensteel

As we at the Festival ask ourselves how to make even greater strides in our eco-friendly practices and processes, it only made sense that we ask the participants in our Artists Market what they are doing to positively impact the environment.

To our delight, a slew of responses came in, with participants eager to share their stories and their passion for making green more than just a selection from a palette of colors.

One major idea that clearly presented itself is the use of salvaged or repurposed materials within the finished piece.

• Local previous Emerging Artist Scholarship winner Alex Lobus exclusively uses salvaged wood, metal and glass in his art. Not only do these materials have the beautiful patina he is looking for, but no resources were exploited in the process of creating his art. Lobus also notes that the wood he uses is primarily ticketed for the landfill. (June 4-8, Plaza Booth 30)

Alex Lobus

• Stewart and Susan Webb make their jewelry and art from repurposed high tech materials from computers and electronics, as well as industrial, aerospace and military pieces. Their work just so happens to be sold locally at Carnegie Science Center. (June 9-13, Plaza Booths 54 and 55)
• Eco artist William Alburger rescues and salvages wood that showcases the beauty of weathering life’s storms. His respect for nature informs his art, which in turn highlights nature’s own unique way of signing each piece of wood. (June 4-8, Plaza Booth 11)
• A new addition to the artist market this year, Gerry Florida states that from an early age, she spent her time salvaging objects, reinventing uses and preserving the integrity of discarded materials. Florida uses a variety of salvaged, vintage and new materials in her work, including toy parts, hardware finds and holiday decorations to name a few. (June 11-13, Park Booth 40)

Geraldine Florida

• Laurie Leonard uses old keys she finds at flea markets and vintage beads and stones. Leonard has collected antique jewelry and the parts and pieces to repair the jewelry herself – instead of driving or shipping it to repair shops. She has passed down the idea of repurposing to her daughter, who uses Barbie Doll parts to make earrings. (June 4-8, Plaza Booth 40)

For many, the very process by which they create their artwork is the focus of greening efforts.

• Because stained glass creates a lot of scrap glass that gets wasted, Sheron Davis developed a cutting technique that eliminates much of that waste. She learned to create shapes that spoon each other so there is little to throw away, and smaller scraps are used in smaller pieces. Davis says she feels better about her work conserving glass — and also because she thinks it is simply too beautiful to throw out. (June 4-6, Park Booth 24)
  

Sheron Davis

• Vaughan Smith recycles all of his clays, glazes and slips. First, he soaks it all in water to create a slurry/liquid and then pours all of the residual materials into cut-off jeans legs. These are hung in the studio for a week until they are stiff enough to be run through a machine called a pug mill which creates a uniform column of clay to be used in future pieces. (June 4-8, Plaza Booth 80)
• Gary Ayres reduced electricity consumption by about 80% mostly in the firing process. Kiln furniture (the shelves and posts that support the work) has to be heated along with the product being fired. Ayres reduced the mass of his furniture by fabricating shelves with holes, which also allowed him to hang earrings close together, increasing his yield per firing. Ayres also started pulling his booth in a trailer behind his bicycle when doing local shows. You will see him commuting from his room in Pittsburgh on a recumbent bike.

And here are a few of the folks who let us know about multiple ways they have made changes, including greening the way they do business.

• Bud Scheffel’s business, Earth Saver Wind Sculpture, started as an environmentally-conscious store in 1987, where he also ran tree planting programs for more than 20 years. Scheffel incorporates recycled elements and found objects into his pieces whenever possible, and all of his packaging is post consumer and printed with soy based inks. (June 4-8, Plaza Booth 36)
• John Thomas, a photographer, was displeased by the amount of chemicals used in his art-making process, so he switched to digital printing. His matting is rag 100% cotton when possible. John also takes extra steps by using low voltage lighting in his booths and places his sold art in used bags. (June 4-8, Plaza Booth 3)

John Thomas

• Anders Anderson takes several eco-friendly actions in the course of making his ceramic tiles, including recycling and incorporating waste glaze materials into the clay body so that none goes into waste water or solid waste stream, and modifying commercially-built kilns with extra thermal insulation. He also located his studio near his residence to nearly eliminate commuting, and handles the majority of his business electronically. (June 9-13, Plaza Booth 74)

Of course sometimes it is difficult, if not impossible to change the age-old practices used in creating fine pieces of art, but it’s important to stay on top of advancements and be creative (downright ingenious even) when it comes to finding new ways to make a statement through your art.

Pittsburgh is honored to have been selected as North America’s host city for United Nations World Environment Day on June 5^th.

“June 5^th? Isn’t that during Three Rivers Arts Festival,” you ask?

Why, yes. Yes it is.

Because of this fortunate coincidence, we have decided to encourage as many Festival patrons as possible to be green using a program we call Green Spotting. The way it works: We, the Green Spotters, look for you, the patrons, at the Festival. If we spot you doing something green, you will be entered to win a prize of your choice. It’s easy!

Guster is our headliner that evening and the environmentally-conscious group has been nice enough to offer some prizes to amp up the effort. A few lucky greenies will win a Guster prize pack, including band merchandise and the chance to meet Guster backstage after their show. The grand prize winner will receive a signed guitar from the band! In addition, the Trust will have prize packs offering great Cultural District discounts.

So remember: If we spot you riding your bike, using a reusable water bottle, recycling or composting, utilizing public transportation, or anything that makes the Festival greener, you’ll have a chance to win some awesome prizes.

If making Pittsburgh, North America, and our world a better place to live wasn’t enough incentive already, this certainly should be.

Carpooling
If you still feel like hassling with and paying for gas and parking, then we recommend you carpool.  Carpooling is a great way to take advantage of a vehicle that is really meant to fit multiple people. (That’s what all those extra seats are for!) Another option is PickupPal, a free online ride-sharing resource where you can arrange to carpool with other people who have the same destination.  Check out our member page to connect with other people headed to the Festival.

Walking
It is unfortunate that walking is considered alternative transportation because that’s what our legs were originally intended for! Walking is an easy and healthy way to enjoy this beautiful city, and if you live close enough, it is a great way to get to the Festival.  The average person can walk a mile in under 20 minutes. At the right time of day, you might even beat traffic!

Biking
Pittsburgh is quickly becoming a burgeoning cycling city.  With the help of organizations like BikePGH, our city has recently been recognized as a “Bronze Level” Bike Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists – and it’s only going to get better.

Biking provides exercise, makes our city more attractive, and it is (by far) the most fun method of transportation.  To get to the Festival, take advantage of some of the trail connections that converge at the Point and the bike lanes and ”sharrows” popping up around the city.  Bike parking is available in Cultural District parking garages.  Valet bike parking will also be available at the main entrance to the Festival at Point State Park on World Environment Day on June 5th.

Remember: the more bikes on the road, the fewer cars and the safer it is for all of us.  Don’t forget to wear your helmet!

Public Transportation
Finally, Port Authority of Allegheny County provides public transportation at reasonable prices.  There are bus stops located throughout downtown, and the Wood Street T Station is located directly below Wood Street Galleries, a Festival venue. Use their online trip planner to find an easy route to the Festival.

Please take advantage of these alternatives and help us make the Festival even greener.

Our good friends over at Bike Pittsburgh have created a fantastic guide for biking to Three Rivers Arts Festival. If you’re thinking about traveling green or just want to avoid traffic, Erok covered everything, from planning your route to safe bike parking to links to year-round Pittsburgh cycling resources. Check it out!

Also good to note for cyclists: Bike Pittsburgh will be offering bike valet service on Saturday, June 5, at the entrance to Point State Park, as part of our United Nations World Environment Day 2010 Pittsburgh programming.

Pittsburgh was selected by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as the North American Host City to join World Environment Day on June 5, 2010. The Festival has fully committed to its role as the anchor site in Pittsburgh by focusing elements of the programming around the celebration’s theme of “Water Matters.”

With this in mind, Hodder has led a creative effort in the concept and design of an equally educational and aesthetic installation titled “Catch of the Day,” which can be found in the Creativity Zone section of the Festival through its duration. The piece serves double duty by providing a fun children’s activity while also educating children (of all ages) about the wildlife found in our beloved rivers and the pollution that jeopardizes it.

By keeping the rivers clean and free from discarded junk and pollution, we can all have a hand in increasing the survival rates of the oft endangered native fish. “Catch of the Day” has already begun contributing to the process by repurposing discarded materials (obtained through the generous folks at Pittsburgh’s Construction Junction) and collecting recyclable items for use in the installation itself. Between 1,500 and 2,000 soda (er…pop) cans were sterilized, crushed and attached to a frame to form the scales on a silhouette of a Leaping Brook Trout, one of our riverly neighbors. The Trout sculpture will be used not only as a pure piece of artwork, but also as an eye-catching way to draw Festival patrons to participate in the installation’s activity. Bait, if you will.

Folks can “go fish” for cleverly-designed water bottles (a.k.a. native Pittsburgh fishies) which, according to the experts guiding the “Water Matters” theme, can then be categorized in three ways: doing somewhat well, slightly endangered, and downright needs immediate attention.

“What I like to communicate through my art is a respect for nature and an appreciation for it,” says Hodder. “If I can, I try to do something that reminds me of nature and to take care of the environment.”

Hodder says that the “Catch of the Day” installation was meant to “call attention to the fact that all this debris can actually be found in our rivers, because we often don’t think about it.”

But this is, after all, an Arts Festival, and so it is still important to strive to create an aesthetically-pleasing piece. Hodder and team wondered how it could be done with veritable junk?

That is the most interesting thing about the installation; we often view our rivers and our local environment from a distance and see something quite beautiful, but upon closer review we can see the junk and the pollution negatively affecting how beautiful it really is.

And so it is also with the installation. Though you’re drawn to its vibrant, engaging and artistic qualities, you’ll soon discover that it has within it those very same components that are damaging our delicate environment. It always pays to look more closely.

“Catch of the Day” will be operating each day of the Festival in the Creativity Zone at Point State Park.  June 4-13.

After the flotilla, come on over to the Festival for more environmental activities and our headline show with Guster.

Get involved at www.paddleatthepoint.com