Sarah Jane Thornington, a marine debris artist and portrait photographer, recently shared her “A Year of Plastic” project with attendees who participated in a Zoom program hosted by C.H. Booth Library.

On July 19, attendees heard what the process of her year-long initiative was like and about the pieces of art she created from it. She also spoke on the importance of taking better care of the planet and shared helpful ways to reduce plastic usage.

Thornington then spoke with The Newtown Bee after her talk, diving further into her project’s powerful message for those who were unable to attend the virtual program.

Gaining Inspiration

Thornington grew up not too far from Newtown, in Roxbury, and later moved to Cape Cod, Mass., after graduating from photography school in 1986.

For years, she would walk the beach in Cape Cod with her dog and then return home with her pockets filled with trash, having picked up the miscellaneous litter she encountered along the way.

It prompted her to get creative and do a reverse advent calendar with the trash.

“I planned to do a beach cleanup every day for the advent period, or I’d donate $5 to the National Marine Life Center — a Cape organization that rehabilitates injured seals and turtles — for every day I missed,” Thornington said.

It was that process that opened her eyes to the sheer amount of garbage accumulating along the beach.

“I was so horrified by the amount of marine debris I found on my tiny section of beach during that short time that I decided I wanted to do a year-long project, picking up at least three pieces of plastic from the beaches,” or wherever she happened to be, she said.

Thornington decided to do that every day for a year, “and document what I found,” she said. “I counted all of, and cleaned and sorted a lot of, almost 21,000 pieces of plastic that year.”

One-Of-A-Kind Art

Having amassed such a striking amount of plastic, Thornington began using her expertise as a professional photographer to document the plastic in different ways. She initially did flat-lays and grouped them by color or by item.

“But after about three weeks, I realized there was so much more I could do,” Thornington said. “I taught myself to weave bowls with the ghost gear rope I’d found.”

Ghost gear is a term for fishing gear that is lost, abandoned, or discarded in marine environments.

“A few weeks later, I created my first mosaic. I’ve also created assemblages, embroidered with the ropes and ghost gear, weaved on driftwood I’d found,” she added.

“I create monoprints with anything I can,” she continued. “I started creating different things as I found items, and as the mood struck me.”

Currently she is enjoying making tiny mosaics by cutting a shape out of wood then building up layers of the items she has found.

She is also working on two series of art pieces, one of which features different birds made from litter.

“I’ve created a piping plover and a kingfisher; both are about the size of the actual birds. The kingfisher was because I saw one for the first time ever in my marsh and then found the absolute perfect piece of material to make one with a couple of days later, think blue and frayed, so I pretty much had to,” Thornington said.

The other art series focuses on different types of sea turtles.

“I’m making all five that we get here on Cape Cod. I’ve finished one so far, and the others are all in various stages on my workspace,” she said. “I’m going to have stickers made of them when I’m done, I think, to sell and raise money for the Wellfleet Bay Sea Turtle Project.”

Thornington has even donated some of her artwork; a four-foot-long shark she made went to Atlantic White Shark Conservancy in Massachusetts for a recent exhibit.

Her work has gained national recognition as well, with A Year is Plastic being awarded the Points of Light honor in July.

“Points of Light was started by George H.W. Bush during his presidency to empower the spirit of service,” Thornington explained.

Her goal has never been to receive accolades, however. Her mission has been to be a protector of the planet and spread the message about the problems with single-use plastics.

“The best thing we can do is to always walk gently on the earth. Protect what you love,” she said. “As for me, I am so full of wonder at all the amazing things in this world. I don’t understand how anyone could possibly cause her harm.”

‘Buy Less. Consume Less.’

Thornington has the philosophy of “Buy less. Consume less. Don’t waste resources,” when it comes to reducing plastic usage.

She offers easy tips to achieve this, including using a reusable water bottle, or at least buying beverages in aluminum or glass bottles instead of plastic; requesting to not be given plastic straws or take-out utensils; and bringing coffee from home (not made from single-use plastic cups) rather than purchasing it in to-go cups.

There are also everyday routines that can be modified to be more environmentally friendly.

“Don’t wash your clothing unless it needs it. Buy items second-hand. Mend clothing rather than discarding it. Try to buy products and produce not wrapped in plastic. If you can’t reuse it, refuse it,” Thornington said.

Her last, and most important piece of advice: Buy less.

“My favorite of the R’s — you know: reduce, reuse, refuse, repurpose, recycle, etc — is reduce,” she emphasized.

Upcoming Events

While Thornington has already done events at C.H. Booth Library, Woodbury Public Library, and her local library in Cape Cod, she continues her advocacy by speaking to groups about her project.

She recommends people check out her Facebook page (facebook.com/ayearofplastic) and Instagram feed (instagram.com/ayearofplastic) to stay up to date on virtual event opportunities. There, she will post registration links a week or two before the programs.

To contact Thornington or to view her craft projects and blog, visit thestudiobythesea.com.

Reporter Alissa Silber can be reached at alissa@thebee.com.