We had the good fortune of connecting with Hannah Tizedes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
From a young age, I was drawn to anything colorful. If I could have chosen where to spend all my time in school, it would have been the art room. Although I loved science experiments and learning about geography, I was drawn to imagery and the impact it had on me.

There’s still a specific moment in time I vividly remember, standing out on an ocean pier with my mum. I grabbed her camera and took a photo of a pink balloon floating by with the ocean waves. I now look back on it as an “aha moment” for everything I hope to bring awareness to with my art.

In college I went on to study Creative Advertising + Environmental and Sustainability Studies. My hope was to combine the two areas of study to further talk about environmental issues in the world. The world is filled with advertisements – social media campaigns, billboards and so on. I wanted environmental issues such as plastic pollution and climate change to be plastered everywhere on those advertisements for the world to see.

From the moment of the pink balloon to now, I’ve always believed art has the ability to create change.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My current art project, The Trashy Collection, started when I began to realize how much plastic exists on our planet. The amount polluting our oceans, lakes and deserts is even more devastating.

So, I started to collect all the colorful plastic I was finding during my beach and neighborhood cleanups. I even traveled back from Europe with a literal backpack full of trash! Thanks TSA for not making me get rid of it!

When I got home, I started creating art pieces with the trash I’d collected and began cleaning up the nearby beach on a daily basis to gather more materials. My pieces have been referred to as eye-catching, incorporate lots of color and aim to bring awareness to our single-use society and its impacts.

My hope is to inspire others to be more mindful in their consumption patterns, pick up liter they see and ultimately create a less trashy planet.

My biggest takeaway has been if you’re passionate about something, share it. There was a period of time where I didn’t share my art because I thought people wouldn’t understand or think it was silly. But what I came to realize was that if you’re passionate about what you’re doing, people will feel it through your work. By rooting into my “why”, I was able to create with confidence, even with literal trash!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would definitely spend *a lot* of time at the beach. The beach is one of my favorite spots to soak up the sunshine, collect trash for upcoming art projects and spend time with friends.

We’d bring lots of blankets, order takeout food and bring it to our little beach spot. I’m a big fan of veggie tacos at the beach so there would probably be lots of tacos, too!

Other festivities might include museums, sunset hikes and checking out local vegan pop-ups listed in the latest foodie blogs.

Pro Tip: Tote around your own reusable takeout containers and ask local food spots to kindly use those instead of single-use containers when you grab a bite to eat!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mum! I wouldn’t have the ability to nurture and appreciate the creativity in my life today without her constant support. She’s always showed me that being resourceful and taking rest are two incredibly important ingredients to a creative lifestyle.

Website: www.thetrashycollection.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetrashycollection/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahtizedes/

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.