In this blog, we’d like to shine the spotlight on a fantastic Aussie artist — Leanne Splatt, aka @castawaycolor — who transforms ocean plastic into colourful and meaningful art!
‘Castaway Color’ Creates Art From Ocean Plastic
For many of us, litter is just something we collect and throw in the bin — but for artist and author, Leanne Splatt, litter on the beach represents a treasure trove of opportunity! With her two adorable dogs in tow, Leanne spends her days scouring the beaches of Japan for colourful ocean plastic.
As you can see in the images, Leanne’s intricate pieces of art aren’t just beautiful; they’re meaningful, too. Her mission is to create art to raise awareness of plastic pollution in our oceans.
“I started creating beach art in 2019 to promote awareness and to have a little fun while cleaning up my local beach. I am really excited about the growing community of people who are working on solutions and awareness of marine debris globally," said Leanne on her Instagram.
'From The Floating World’ | Japanese-Inspired Figurines
Leanne creates all sorts of art with her ocean plastic — flat lays depicting marine species, enormous framed pieces, mini 3D sculptures, and Japanese-inspired figurines.
These pieces are fairly muted in their colouring, but they’re extraordinarily detailed and well-thought-out. Each little figurine is made from discarded fishing floats, fishing ropes and marine debris, which is why Leanne named the series “From The Floating World”. The Buddhist Monk, Super Sumo, Ninja Warrior, Red Samurai, Taiko Drummer, Kyudo Girl and Matsuri Girl represent the seven magnificent waste warriors!
“These characters were created to raise awareness of plastic pollution and to promote the potential of waste as a resource.”
Robot & Boo | The Beach Cleaning Crew
Earlier this year, Leanne self-published an amazing children’s book called Robot & Boo, The Beach Cleaning Crew — which you can find on Amazon. Aside from being utterly adorable, the book contains a fantastic message about the importance of keeping our beaches clean. Robot & Boo, the two main characters in her book, are made from beach litter.
Importantly, the book is geared towards kids, so the messaging is simple to understand. The book really highlights the exciting potential of plastic waste as a resource, as well as the power of teamwork and friendship.
“I created this book to raise awareness and help show the potential to reuse plastic waste. It’s all about working together, and each character is created from beach-found plastics.”
The Marine Friends Project
The Marine Friends Project is all about educating kids to keep beaches beautiful and plastic-free. Through this project, Leanne attends schools in Japan and inspires kids to create art with ocean plastic. The Marine Friends Project also hosts regular community beach clean-ups on the Itoigawa coast.
“I recently joined with a friend to start Marine Friends Project; a non-profit organisation for community beach cleans, workshops and education through a photo book of my art that we are donating to schools,” said Leanne. Leanne’s book, Art For The Environment, is an English/Japanese book created to educate and raise awareness about plastic pollution for school kids. The books are distributed to Japanese schools via the Marine Friends Project. Leanne hopes they inspire the next generation of what she calls ‘sea huggers’!
Who would’ve thought that ocean plastic could be transformed into beautiful art! We seriously admire what Leanne Splatt is doing to raise awareness of plastic pollution — it’s creative, fun and educational for kids, too! Please go check @castawaycolor out on Instagram and support her work. You can also buy a copy of Robot & Boo, The Beach Cleaning Crew here on Amazon — your kids will love it!
For more arty inspiration and tips on how to upcycle ‘waste’ items, check out the blogs below!
