Recycled Cowboys

Things a Cowboy Should Know, mixed media, collage, 8”x8’ on board

San Francisco is a city with a great commitment to recycling and composting.  And we are a city where we all have that neighbor who thinks cardboard goes in the trash and plastic goes in the compost.  We are a beautiful city with filthy streets.  Streets with all sorts of abandoned flotsam and jetsam.  And still, some neighbors purposefully leave boxes on the street for us all to rummage through.   You never know what you might find. I’ve found good books, antique cloisonné, materials for art projects and, in this example, the tattered remains of book titled Lore of the West: Roy Rogers with Gabby Hayes.  The 78 rpm record the book came with was missing (you can listen here).  Here is a website that will give you an idea what the book was like in its complete state. I chose to recycle the remnants into the collage shown here.  I only wish I could figure out who was responsible for the original, wonderful illustrations but for now they remain an uncredited artist that worked for RCA or the publisher.