East Moline woman promotes eco-art

EAST MOLINE. — Glorie Iaccarino, of East Moline, loves art, nature, children and making art more accessible to people of all ages.

The passionate artist is combining all those interests in a new group she helped form — Eco Arts Council of the Quad Cities (EACQC). Its first project is based on a successful initiative called “Papergirl,” which has been done in several cities around the world.

The Papergirl project begins with an open call for artwork. Submitted works are rolled up like newspapers and delivered to random members of the public by people on bicycles — hence the name Papergirl.

“We're trying to get local artists involved in community causes by bringing more art to public spaces, by sharing the art of giving and offering more art opportunities,” Ms. Iaccarino said recently. The council aims to promote works that celebrate the Quad-Cities' Mississippi River area and the Midwest region and to raise awareness about local environmental issues.

The Papergirl project — which began in Berlin, Germany, in 2006 — fuses the areas of art for everyone, accessibility and being outdoors. Papergirl organizers aspire to broaden public awareness of artists and provide them with a wider venue to show their work. The free distribution of rolled-up artwork has grown worldwide to include Glasgow, Istanbul, Vancouver, New York, San Francisco, Portland, Australia and Romania.

“In other cities, the response has been very positive,” Ms. Iaccarino said, noting the project is not limited to girls but simply was started by a female artist. “We want to engage the community, increase their appreciation of local artists, being out in nature and sharing the art. A lot of people see art by going into a building, within four walls. This is a nice way to bring art to people where they're at. And it will be the people out in nature.”

The artwork can be donated by anyone — and it can be anything from drawings, photos, digital art and colorful prints, to sketches and poetry. Ms. Iaccarino hopes to get 25 cyclists involved and about 350 works donated.

“I think it's a great concept to get children involved because I think children innately just draw or doodle. It could be a great family night,” she said. The submitted artworks will be displayed at one place for a day (location TBA) before being distributed to members of the public during one day in late July.

“The goal is to start in Rock Island, go to downtown Davenport, use the bike trails, the parks along the river,” Ms. Iaccarino said of where the cyclists will hand out the art. She said the success of the event will not be defined by numbers but the “spirit of engaging our community; the generosity of artists, supporting art appreciation; and in the art of giving to unsuspecting recipients.”

The surprise heightens the excitement, and if people who receive the art don't like it, they're encouraged to “re-gift” it, Ms. Iaccarino said. She hopes to inspire others to create art through this project.

This is a natural outgrowth of Ms. Iaccarino's 20-plus years doing environmental education with local schools, writing an environmental column for Families First magazine and coordinating arts- education programs, she said.

“Art is one of those things -- regardless of your color, your class, your background, art relates to everybody,” Ms. Iaccarino said. “That's why art is a great platform to share those environmental concerns. I do think that sharing more art in a public way, getting people engaged, gets more a sense of community.”

“Art is an integral part of our daily life and enjoying nature is as well,” she said. “Nature and art go hand in hand.”

“There's so much natural beauty here. Nature is my inspiration. Art is a way for me to express my appreciation,” said Ms. Iaccarino, who works in a variety of media. “I like to share the beauty. I've never been the type of artist who tries to make some profound political statement. I've used it to share the things that touch me, inspire me to grow individually as a person. For me, my focus has been on celebrating the beauty.”

Daughter of Davenport artist Ralph Iaccarino, the artist has nine kids, ranging in age from 1 to 24. “They're my best creation. They're a lot of inspiration behind the things I do,” Ms. Iaccarino said. She plans to get a lot of children involved in Papergirl.

“Children just do things like draw, sing, get into nature,” Ms. Iaccarino said, adding that as an artist and parent, she enjoys seeing things through children's eyes.

Another Eco Arts Council project in the works is a monthly “art salon” that would rotate between several locations. It would feature an environmentally conscious artist exhibiting his or her art. The exhibit would feature public discussions with the artist, Ms. Iaccarino said.

“We need to break some of the traditional boundaries,” she said. “The council wants to focus on new and innovative ways to bring art to people. It could be at a park, a garden center. For those people not traditionally engaged in art, this would be an opportunity.”

She said she'd also like to work with other environmental groups, such as River Action and Living Lands & Waters, perhaps creating “scrap art” from the junk pulled from the river or from recycled items, opening an “art scraps” store that combines waste management with art and creating an EACQC gallery to exhibit eco-arts work.