Fossils of the Future is a series I began in 2016.

My first pieces in this series focused on the castings of plastic water bottles in porcelain and glazing them with volcanic crusty glazes. This was so interesting to me that I continued to cast plastic food containers, yogurt cups, coffee cup lids, anything I could get my hands on. The discarded materials for the molds were not hard to find!

More recently, I have been incorporating the actual plastic into my art by creating large monolithic totem like structures resembling futuristic core samples of the earth. These pieces are filled with donated or found plastic and layered with rock, concrete, old paint and resin.

As Public Art (Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Newport Beach), they visually engage viewers with their height and color and upon closer inspection, the recognition of everyday plastic objects. Kids find great joy in discovering something they recognize! And then, hopefully, a deeper conversation follows about the world we live in and how we can help preserve it.

E Tyler Burton

sculpture and mixed media

E Tyler Burton

sculpture and mixed media