Kris Patzlaff

has been creating metalwork in the form of art jewelry and found object art for more than 30 years -- most notably her permenant public art work at the Humboldt Waste Transfer Station in Eureka, CA.

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Patzlaff garnered a commission to create art at the Humboldt Waste Management Authority Transfer Station and Recycling Center in Eureka. The whimsical art, materials collected from other's "trash," lines fences that surround the station. The fence images follow everyday community activities, "the very parts of our lives that create the post-consumer waste that the fence surrounds.

"There is the illusion that going to the dump and what is deposited belongs to no one. However, it belongs to all of us," Patzlaff said. "It doesn't go away as most feel it does when they throw it (away)The place is rich with metaphors of the human condition."

Patzlaff said that she began collecting odds and ends in part because, "I have a hard time with the responsibility of throwing things away." And, Patzlaff has discovered that her works are easily approachable, even by those who don't normally go to art shows. People recognize the materials and respond to them.

Patzlaff is concerned with human activities and their impact on the environment. Referring to herself as an "object-maker" rather than a "conceptual artist," she has worked for many years as a crafter of fine jewelry. Recently, she has become more and more interested in the various cast-off items she collects.