Mike Preston of University Mail Services has become a regular at our recycling events, having helped with the annual Shred Fest event and the GameDay Recycling Challenge. At a slow point in the day during this year’s Shred Fest, Mike etched the words “reuse recycle ” using a magnifying glass and the sun on a small piece of wood that now sits in my office as a decorative item (pictured above).
I was so so impressed by this piece and learned that one of Mike’s hobbies is creating art using recycled materials. Mike said, “I like to create things and like to re-purpose things to see what I can do.” Here are some of this other creations.
This is a sign Mike created for his house using the same method as the limb above. But this one, being more complex, took Mike 2 hours and 45 minutes to create.
Here is another Mike made, for a co-worker who retired, displaying the University’s motto “Meliora”. It took an hour to burn and was made from a tree that had been cut down along Park Lot.
These face masks were made from dryer sheets, paper mache and priority envelops. The thing about the masks is that they are functional for what they were designed to do. They were designed for face protection for air soft, a slower speed BB gun hobby.
A huge shout-out to Mike for his creativity and for being a team player at our events! Thanks so much for sharing your many talents with us!!
Amy Kadrie, Sustainability Coordinator