Recycling industry sources estimate that less than 20% of aluminum pet food cans are recycled each year, compared to 54 percent of other aluminum cans. As a result, Friskies® and Fancy Feast® have created the Together We Can campaign, designed to educate cat owners about the recyclability of cat food cans and increase the total number of pet food cans recycled each year. See togetherwecanrecycle.com for more info.

Upcycling cat food cans

As part of this campaign, Purina has invited imaginative pet lovers, environmentalists, artists and celebrities to create cat-inspired art from empty aluminum Friskies® and Fancy Feast® cans. The art will be displayed at a one-night only RePURRposed Gallery Event in New York City. Check togetherwecanrecycle.com in April to see what the artists came up with.

Related Note:
What’s behind this disproportionate recycling rate when it comes to cat food cans? Is it feelings about the need to rinse the cans before placing them in the recycling bin? For some straight scoop on “Dirty Containers” and other recycling dilemmas, check out the great article, I Didn’t Know That was Recyclable!, over at earth911.com.

I recently stumbled upon the beautiful work of Joe Pogan online, an Oregon artist who creates metal sculptures of animals from “found objects”. I enjoyed reviewing his web gallery so much that I thought I’d share here, simply because a pleasure shared is a pleasure doubled. I love his work, both for its artistry and ingenuity, and for the symbols of peace I see in many of his sculptures.

As a bird lover, I’m particularly fond of his works depicting birds. Here are some examples:

Joe Pogan describes his work in the following way:

Artist’s Statement

I create animal sculptures using various “found metal” objects like old watches, sprockets, nuts and bolts. The stranger the piece of metal the better, since the end goal is an eye-catching, fascinating amalgamation of metal with odd nooks and crannies you can explore for hours.

I start by welding a frame to make the general shape. Then I weld or braze the metal objects one at a time, to form the outer shell of the sculpture. I use a “blending” technique that leaves no space between the objects, so the sculpture looks solid. This allows me to hide interesting objects all over each piece, which enhances the excitement of discovery. Some of the works are mounted on a hardwood base that I finish with natural oil.