Rays of a McGnarly Sunshine

What Rays of a McGnarly Sunshine organizes is advocation of how imperative it is to recycle, and to reuse items for the benefit for art and music, festivals, events, and venues. We create art only out of recycled items which we have all collected, and display at music festivals to push how important it is to recycle, and what other great uses there are with items that are normally tossed in the trash. Here is how it all started: I became a McGnarls at my first musical festival, Wuhnurth Music & Arts Festival back in 2009, when Sunny McGnarls casually appeared in my tent, shortly later after discovering the relating nicknames, same birthday, and same life goals me and my Indiana gang all got named, and McGnarls marked. The McGnarls Family is an assortment of musicians, artists, hula hoopers & spinners, promoters, light crews, festival owners, producers, and much more based in the Midwest. Once a McGnarls you can take upon the family responsibility of promoting tangible talent, establishing charitable organizations, giving your services to the Midwest festival scene, and being heavily involved with the festival community. This is where my soul, my passions, my rays began to light up. It wasn’t until months later at Rootwire Music & Arts Festival 2010 that I was introduced to my first performance artists, and there, my life changed. I sat behind Sweet Melis, a Colorado based performance artists, while she painted, and right then decided that this is what my life needs, and where I will be going. My rays began to shine some light on what I felt needed to be done. My first Live Painting & Art Installations performance was at Wuhnurth Music Festival 2010. I had over 1000 recycled cans carved like pumpkins hanging from trees, but instead of candles, I picked up glow sticks to further recycle the unwanted, abandoned glow. The outcome was a success, everyone at the festival helped pick up glow sticks, and in turn added them to the glow lanterns. At night the lanterns looked like floating beaming glowing designs, and illustrations. Because of my unique and recycled-interactive art I now have an art direction role, and have been added to the Wuhnurth Committee. Since, I have performance painted for over 40 bands and over 20 venues are booked for the summer 2011 festival season for performance art and art installations of the same context I presented at Wuhnurth. The reasoning behind only using recycled art, is to help the environment, but to also demonstrate to poor artists like myself that there are other materials that are free which you can save, or collect out of the trash, which I do daily. I always attempt to think of the festival as a whole, and what is wasted. I always go around and pick up trash in the mornings, and what I found the most of was glow sticks, cans, bottles, caps, and plastic cutlery. Not only will I be bringing recycled items to the festival to create with, but will be digging out of the trash to create with as well.