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The Towpath Trail Lantern Parade, hosted by Canalway Partners, comes to the Towpath Trail in Tremont on Saturday, March 11 at 6:30 PM. Ahead of the parade, the 2023 Featured Artists are sharing the inspiration and recycled materials they are using to create their large-scale lanterns.
This year’s Featured Artists are Joyce Morrow Jones, Haley Himiko Hudson Morris and Ron Shelton.
Learn more about the artists and the environmentally-themed lanterns that will be unveiled at the event:
As a nature collector, Joyce Morrow Jones was inspired to recycle a bounty of materials offered by nature. The lantern features dried pods and uses Kozo paper made from mulberry bark and natural jute rope.
“Construction was simple, experimenting along the way and I found that after stringing the pods, it seemed that a traditional lantern design was best. Cardboard, brown paper bags, glue, raffia and scrap basket weaving strips were used for the lantern section. I thoroughly enjoyed this process and would certainly do it again,” said Joyce Morrow Jones.
Joyce Morrow Jones is a native Clevelander who began her journey in the art exhibition world in 2016 under the name Orisanmi Kehinde Odesanya featuring inspirations from Diasporic African art. Her early styles included folkloric crafts and sewing. She exhibits widely in the MidWest and South and is also a teaching artist who enjoys guiding others to create primarily from recycled materials such as paper, plastic, found objects and natural fibers. As an artist, her work is categorized as doll art, sculpture, fiber art, figurative art, cultural arts and mixed media.
The lantern framework is made from a welded chandelier and the shade is created from excess corrugated PVC roofing. Materials used to diffuse the light include fake fruit, colored epoxy rocks, old holiday ornaments, recycled pieces of laser cut acrylic, and beads from broken jewelry.
“When I found the welded sphere I was reminded of the wormhole traveling machine from the movie Contact based on the story by Carl Sagan. It felt meant to be, as my conduit of light and chaotic energy. My lantern uses the concept that circles and spheres symbolize infinity and the endless cycle of nature,” said artist Haley Himiko Hudson Morris.
Haley Himiko Hudson Morris has lived in Cleveland most of her life by way of Alabama & California and identifies as Japanese American. Haley has diversified her work to include permanent works of public art such as SPACES Free Station Light Cube Sculpture and the streetscape of Miriam Ortiz Rush Park for the city of Cleveland. She currently operates her own stationery and vintage shop Himiko's Cool World on Cleveland's west side.
Ron Shelton’s Water Lamp is made of 100 percent recycled plastic, including over 30 water bottles. In 2021, 583 billion plastic bottles were produced. That is 100 billion more than were produced just five years ago. The United Nations has declared plastic waste as a major environmental problem.
“I have been creating both large and small-scale plastic installations that have been exhibited locally, nationally and internationally. My world will never be the same. Since I began using plastic as an environmental medium, my artistic practice will no longer be a tool merely for aesthetic pursuit. Art has the power to change the world and change minds,” said Ron Shelton.
Ron Shelton is a graduate of The Ohio State University, BA in Cinematography and has been selected as one of the nine Circular Ambassadors to work in their communities to galvanize the neighborhood in developing a Circular Economy. He has collaborated with Cuyahoga County Solid Waste Management District and completed the Recycling Ambassador training, and has worked with the Mayor's Office of Sustainability, where he was honored as one of Cleveland's Black Sustainability Leaders. Ron has exhibited large-scale plastic installation works on local, national, and international platforms.