BY JEFF BETTGER

Our biggest goal at Artist Reformation is to spend time with friends, working together on something we all enjoy. We like to think about work as play and integrate creativity and fun into everything we do.

One of my favorite things is to see ideas take shape and come to fruition. I enjoy this most when it is done collaboratively and has a purpose that is helpful for people beyond the scope of the project.

I first met Wolt from the Overflow Project on Twitter. Wolt went to a conference called the Unitive with Kevin Klevjer, Artist Reformation’s Administrative Director. They tweeted back and forth over some ideas presented at the conference, and the next week all three of us connected and shared the various circumstances and ideas that led us to work in the non-profit world and to do what we do. We spoke about a partnership, and about collaborating on an art piece that would bring awareness to simple living and generous giving for Overflow’s 50-Day Challenge. I instantly thought of my good friend Samuel Stubblefield. I knew he would be into it.

I organized a meeting with Sam, Wolt, and Emily Carlson, the Overflow Project’s amazing designer. We brainstormed a few ideas for our art project, and came up with “Captured in a Net.” It is pretty self-explanatory, but here is the artist statement.

We have things. Some things are useful. Some things are beautiful. Some things validate our hard work. Some things remind us of times past. Some things we forget about. Some things don’t work any longer. Some things do nothing.

We asked our friends, our families and ourselves what we could do without. We collected some of those things to display for you. This odd assemblage aims to trigger thought around your ability to make small changes that have huge impact on others.

Captured in a net, we tie the captured objects to Overflow Project. Overflow is a platform for connecting you to people in need of water – a delightfully simple objective that creates real relationships between people that decide to live more simply and give to people in need.

We want to show the fact that everybody has stuff that at one time was valuable, important, or sentimental to them, but no longer holds the same value. We want people to see that the amount of resources used to purchase a common pile of stuff could be used in other ways that benefit people who face life-threatening ailments and situations just because they don’t have simple necessities like clean water – something that we take for granted every day.

I really enjoyed working with Sam on this. We haven’t worked together on a project since we did “Seeing the Unseen” a few years ago. It was amazing to get to partner with a great organization like the Overflow Project. Please go check out the 50-Day Challenge and consider how you can help to provide clean water for the village of Olemegili, Kenya.

I want to share photos of our work with you and remind you all that the 50-Day Challenge begins this Sunday, Easter.