One Man's Trash ...
- Cathy Stenquist
- Sep 26
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 27
Behind my art table, tucked in a grocery bag, I found them— no longer needed, but still holding the memory of the object they protected. Several cardboard tubes, once holding Christmas wrap, and five unique packaging pieces made of egg carton material. Most people would have discarded them without a thought. For at least a year, they sat waiting in a grocery bag, waiting for their next role.
But, moved by their form and texture, I paused. Imagination stirred. These unvalued pieces of packing seemed too unique to throw away.
Realizing my stash was overflowing. I finally set a goal to recycle the abundance of things I had collected. I grabbed the grocery bag and began pulling them out.
But something made me stop.
I wondered if someone in my family could use them for a Halloween costume? A robot, perhaps? Or a local art teacher as material for a student's collage? Maybe offer them free on a local website...surely someone else would see the value in them,
The more I held them and brainstormed, the more I fell back in love with them. As my finger felt the texture again, tracing each bump and valley, ideas stirred. I grabbed a sheet of foam board, some old burlap, and began playing. Quicker than I thought, an idea came together.
Before I got the glue gun heating, I started thinking of how these cardboard pieces were found and how they were almost lost to the recycle bin. The poem for this yet-to-be artwork began to pour out.
Don't you love it when that happens? Here is the poem, just in time for Poetry Friday!
Everything has value, even things we think are trash can become beautiful works of art.
Follow me on FB @cathystenquist to see how this project unfolds. Can't wait to get started!
FYI- and If you're in the area today, 9/27/25, I will be reading my poem, "The Stirring," at the TRUE GRIT GALLERY in Middleborough around 2:15 pm. Come check out the poems that won and the art created from their inspiration.
38 Center Street Middleborough, MA 02346
And be sure to check out this week's Poetry Friday Round-up at: The Poem Farm, with host, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater for an assortment of lovely words to brighten your day!
Ha!! Thanks for elevating these materials in worth -- and bringing us into your maker space!
What an interesting collection of art supplies you have, Cathy! I always love to see what you're working on. I hope that your poetry reading went well! : )
"Now elevated in worth" — yes! My daughter the artist (I'm a much more casual artist but still a tinkerer) and I talk often about the difference between junk and potential, the difference between saving-for-future-possibility and hoarding. :) It's a fine line, and one has to develop a semi-regular habit of weeding the stockpile. :)
Here's to the possibilities in all the weird and wonderful things we save!
This poem speaks to the keeper in all of us - keepers of words, keepers of supplies, keepers of ideas, keepers of stories. keepers of hope. Thank you for sharing the story along with your thoughtful and generous-to-things poem. I hope to see the project one day...and hope that you are enjoying your memories of reading "The Stirring" last evening. xo, a.