As a member of contemporary society it is obvious I am highly aware of the need to recycle. Yet I feel the term "recycle" is something people have let define it's self. Instead everyone needs to be challenging the current notion of what it means to recycle. I feel recycling is more then just placing something in a blue bin, and setting it out every Monday. Although that is a very convenient way to recycle, you are not "purifying" the process. It still takes outside energy to pick up this blue bin, take it to a recycling plant, and process the material. In order to have a pure recycling system I think that the extra energy use needs to be eliminated. So, by my definition I have created an artifact which is demonstrating the process of pure recycling.

Recently in the field of graphic design, and design in general there has been a large emphasis on sustainability and "green" design. So I decided I would set out to create a shelf which consisted of the skateboard parts, that I had collected over the years. But unlike other people creating things with other skateboards, I would do it ONLY using the parts I naturally had from old skateboards. This meant, no drilling, cutting, or the use of extra hardware, or brackets. So I was able to accomplish the task with the natural holes, shape, and hardware found in a skateboard, and the shelf is secure enough I have no problem putting ceramic pots and an i-pod on top.

The bottom of the shelf is a complete skateboard, all though the wheels have been tighten to the point they would not roll. The 4 wheeled base is also stabilized by the tails of the two vertical boards that are used for the backing. The trucks are used to rest the two vertical boards on the bottom complete. The trucks sit in wheels inorder to prevent it from tipping forwards or backwards.

The first shelf is resting on the top of the trucks from the vertical boards, and it locked into place by the horizontal board above it pressing against the shelf and the board above it. The tight fit presses down on the shelf, which prevents it from tipping forward.

The top shelf is again resting on the bolts of the trucks attached to the other horizontal board attached to the two verticals. This shelf also has a horizontal board pressing the backside of the shelf down to prevent it from tipping forward.

Another nice feature of the shelf is the irregular turning of the trucks to the outside (rather then the bolt facing inwards) because this allows the trucks to act as book ends for the books so the books them selves don't tip over.

Also on the note of the recycling the glass flower pots are recycled from previous household uses by Ivan Alonso.