4 Collections Supporting The Ocean Cleanup now on Teemill

 June 16, 2025

My design project that started in May has now become a fun showcase of 4 unique design collections that educate about the work and systems of The Ocean Cleanup. 

Click here to visit the collections now....

...or read more about them, below.

1. Dolphins & Whales, Blue and White Design

A visual draw into a world of blue and white, diagonal lines pulling you in a zig-zag through foreground whales, the working deck of System 03, and finally, to the background images of the working retention zone in the distance.

2. The System 03 Tech Design

This design shares the basic technology of the tools used to clean the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

3. The World Operations Map Design

This started out as a way to help me memorize the numbers of the vessels, interceptors and barriers currently deployed in 10+ countries around the world. The rainbow key helps memorize the countries in order and the layout of countries around the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is easier to memorize.

4. Kids Ocean Plastic Designs from 2011, Remastered

I worked as a volunteer art teacher to help 3rd graders learn about environmental art. One of the projects we did was all about ocean plastics and the work of Judith Selby Lang and Richard Lang in Point Reyes, California. I was excited to remaster these designs to show that they could still support the work of The Ocean Cleanup. 

As I have explained the gradeschool project to many before, we placed a large, blank canvas of white poster paper before teams of 4 kids and asked them to design any marine animal or species affected by ocean plastics. They had to use pieces of plastic my sons collected at the beach, as well as some of the plastic we borrowed from the Langs organized studio collection of beach plastic. 

The kids did absolutely incredible work in just 30 minutes or less. We provided some books for reference ideas, but all groups managed to come up with completely different animals and designs. It was a project that eventually raised funds for Music and Arts in the schools. 

Today, I was able to reuse most of the designs for kids Τ-shirt concepts for TheOceanCleanup.com I think the kids who worked on these more than ten years ago would be delighted to see their art used to help support the work of the world's largest cleanup of ocean plastics.

I hope you will have a look at the designs online here. Thank you for supporting the work of The Ocean Cleanup.

In the Studio Today..."Land Art" Project; for Ross Valley Schools YES Fundraiser

April 8, 2010

I am so impressed with the 2nd graders and their amazing job on the "Land Art" project yesterday at their school. 3 classes, of about 20 kids each, created art on the campus surrounding their school. Each class divided into groups of 4-5 students, and had one adult to work with. The parent volunteers and teachers all enjoyed the project almost as much as the kids.

This image(above, entitled "The Window of Color") was created by the group that worked with one of my sons' teachers, Mrs. Olund, who has been teaching for 30 years. What a stunning piece of art! I am so impressed. The groups for the first two classes were given some constraints, such as "Circle", "Square", "Fading Colors", "Heart Shaped", "Insect". The third class to create the work was allowed the freedom to create what they wanted after seeing the 10 other projects that were done in the morning. Their group went more representational, and did things such as "Mother Nature", "Dinosaur", and "Dragon". It was a wonderful Spring day, with 76 degree weather in Marin County. Please click here to view the set of images created by the children (note: There are more images, but I am awaiting the photos from a wonderful parent photographer who assisted me on this project for the first two classes yesterday).

One of the most amazing things to happen yesterday was to witness the children protecting their projects from destruction during recess; One group of kids took turns guarding their "Spring Nest" project. Later, the kids got orange playground cones and marked their art so no one would step on it! The kids loved this project, and some of the older students were very interested in what we were doing as well. "Land Art" was a huge success for the kids, and I want to thank Richard Schilling for his website, "Land Art for Kids", and his book, "The Wheel of Life", which I shared with the children the week prior.


I will be making sets of notecards and envelopes with the kids images on the front, and selling these through the YES Foundation Online Auction to raise funds for the Ross Valley Public Schools Music, Art, PE and Assemblies. Feel free to visit their website in the next week or so and buy some notecards to support our kids!

In Nature's Studio Today... Land Art #4; Rich Colors of Winter

January 15, 2010

Land Art #4; Red Sweetspire, Violets, Holly Berries, Sycamore Seed Pod, originally uploaded by cproppe.

Red sweetspire leaves(I believe), wild purple violets, red holly berries, sycamore seed pod...
My son and I collected the red leaves from the ground at his school today, and the seed pod from the upper playground. The holly berries are from our yard, as well as the wild violets, that just opened this week. It's rain season in Northern California, but there is still color if you look for it. This is our fourth creation in our own "Land Art" series this month. I am hoping to teach a class in the Spring through the Recreation Department. Inspired by the works of Andy Goldsworthy and Richard Shilling. Take a look at Shilling's work, here.

In the Studio Today.... "Land Art" #3; Sun Sculpture: Ode to First Sun in Days

January 14, 2010

Sun Sculpture; Ode to First Sun in Days. "Land Art" #3, originally uploaded by cproppe.

I took my other son on my C25K jog/walk today. Today was Week 2, Day 2 of my c25k running program. I was so eager to get outside because today was the first sun we've seen in weeks, and apparently we are due for another weekend and week of rain next week. It was glorious to see the sun today, and I feel so lucky to have been able to get out in it.

I am quickly learning that what is fun for me is also fun for my kids. My son loved running when it was time to run, and walking when it was time to walk (via the iPod Touch/iPhone app that was prompting us). Not only did he love this part of the outing, but he loved and protected our little sculpture we made in our "Land Art" practice series.

In my previous two posts, I have talked about designing a class to run through the San Anselmo Recreation Center in the Spring called "Land Art". Based on the concepts of artists such as Andrew Goldsworthy and Richard Shilling(www.landartforkids.com). My son loved this little "sun sculpture" we made so much that he told the other people on the trail not to harm it! Too cute.

In the Studio Today... "Land Art"; Lady Bug on Sailboat

January 12, 2010

LandArt_Lady Bug on a Sailboat; Day 2, originally uploaded by cproppe.

My son and I made this sailboat today on our rainy walk in the park. We are beginning a series of projects from www.landartforkids.com. It's a kid's version of the kind of art Andrew Goldsworthy creates in the film, "Rivers and Tides". See some clips from "Rivers and Tides" in the video, below...

I hope to teach a class for kids through the San Anselmo Rec. Center in the Spring. There is so much to learn about shape, color, and design from nature, and it's free! For more information on "Land Art for Kids", read my previous post.