BANG! Helps Re-purpose Materials for Artists

In 2001, local Artist Mike Kendall received an Artist Residency with the San Francisco Dump. He was there for three months, was provided a fully equipped studio, and access to the city's refuse to find materials to create art.  

That experience he said, led him to start re-purposing materials contributed by local vendors via his Benicia Artist Networking Group, (or BANG!) newsletter. 

"Different things have been coming along," Kendall said. "Being able to give to artists is a pleasure."

Via a connection with Allied Waste Management, Kendall recently hooked up with in Benicia to acquire wooden panels that are currently available to artists or craftsmen for re-use. The panels range in size from 4" x 5" to 15" x 24". The panels also vary in thickness. 

Kendall said some artists use the panels to paint on, and some artists use them for woodwork endeavors. Kendall said he used some of the panels to make wooden boxes. 

Anyone who is interested can get some of these wooden panels or other materials acquired by Kendall.  "You don't have to be a member (of BANG!) or even be an artist," Kendall said. "The joy here is that instead of it going into the dumpster, things are being created with (the wood), so it's getting a re-use." 

For more information about BANG! or about available materials contact Mike Kendall at 707-319-5361.