Who is Janet Ormond?
Janet Ormond is an extraordinary environmental activist, State of The Art Finalist, business owner, and artist.
With her approach to ocean conservation and her commitment to raising awareness about plastic pollution, she has become a figure in the global environmental movement. Janet Ormond has created #CurbBeachPlastic, an organization that supports the removal of plastics from beaches and the ocean, creating art using plastics.
Janet Ormond has loved the ocean her entire life. Ever since she was a kid, she would love to go sailing in the ocean of Brazil and walk on the beaches of Cape Town. Even today, she has always lived only a few streets away from the ocean. Unfortunately, being near the ocean this much, Janet has seen the effects of polluting the ocean. Once Janet saw the amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean, she used her skills to create art.
Janet understands that our oceans are in dire need of help and she wants to help spread the message. Her passion is to raise awareness and teach others the importance of helping our oceans. Janet's way of helping others with our global issue is by creating meaningful art to combat this ecological disaster.
Creating Art & Sculptures
Janet Ormond uses a very labor-intensive way of collecting her materials. She goes to the beaches and picks up every piece of plastic.
She picks up every type of plastic you can think of; microplastics, polystyrene, nurdles, earbuds, lollipops sticks, straws, bottle caps and seals, bottles, plastic bags, fishing line, fishing nets, rope, and plastic components.
After hours of picking up plastic from the ocean, Janet will go to her house, where she creates all of her art. Janet will then sort all of the plastic into different colors.
*Credit to The Backyard Studios for the video
Even with having to pick up every piece of plastic by hand on the beaches in Cape Peninsula, she also washes them using the rainwater she collects! Once the plastic is cleaned and sorted, she creates her art.
Janet Ormond skillfully creates every piece of art, and each piece's quality shows Janet's talent.
*Photos from #CurbBeachPlastic
Finalist of "The State of Art: On the Brink of Climate Change"
"Creating 'The Source' was a meaningful experience for me, especially considering it was part of my series 'Source to Sea' submitted for The State of Art: On the Brink of Climate Change competition. Being a part of such a prestigious event was truly an honor. Through this piece, I aimed to capture the serene beauty of nature at the origins of rivers nestled within the mountains." - Janet Ormond
Janet's artwork, "The Source" is a piece that captures the beauty of life in a single artwork. It is vibrant with color and has a lot of texturing involved in the piece. I see the small details, like the bees in the background and smaller birds hidden throughout the piece among the flowers. The center of the stage takes place with a hummingbird flying to beautiful red flowers.
With this amazing art, Janet Ormond was able to submit her art in the "State of Art: On The Brink of Climate Change" competition. She submitted "The Source" alongside with her series, "Source To Sea". Because of her dedication and effort, she was able to be a Finalist in the competition.
Janet Ormond's Future
After over half a decade of collecting trash and creating art, Janet still plans on pursuing art and protecting our oceans. Janet is planning on joining more exhibitions alongside other artists whom are fighting for a positive environmental impact.
"She hopes her art can make people reflect on their past, present, and future choices and make a change in their own lives to help the global problem we all contribute to."
*From Janet Ormond's Website
Janet Ormond is not your ordinary activist. Janet Ormond is very appreciative of every recourse and makes sure that she does her part to stop pollution in the oceans. Janet creates art that requires discipline and creativity to unprecedented extremes.
As for now, we at Dhun Anand are thankful for everything Janet Ormond has done and for allowing us to spread her message. We (Dhun Anand) hope you follow Janet Ormond's incredible journey to clean our oceans!
Even though Janet Ormond is still helping the world, we feel it is well deserved for her to be the "Environmental Artivist!"
You can follow Janet using the top link on the right. You may find more of Janet's on her website. Or you can visit the Open Studios Kommetjie from November 29th to December 1st!
DhunAnand is a 501(c)(3) located in New York. DhunAnand comes from the Punjabi words, Dhun and Anand, which mean melody and joy respectively. The DhunAnand Foundation's mission is to support artists serving the planet. DhunAnand is based on the principles of optimism, purpose, integrity, equity, diversity, volunteerism, fiscal responsibility, empowerment, compassion, and confidentiality.
