Do you ever wonder if there are local eco artists where you live? If so, there are various ways to find out.

I was wondering the same thing, and began searching for eco friendly artists in my small town. My search led me to Larry Smith of PC Scrap Art, who was featured in the April 2009 issue of Today in Mississippi.

If you too are looking for local eco artists, try the following resources:

1. Etsy – search by zip code
2. Twitter – search local directories, such as nearbytweets and localtweeps.com
3. Local papers – try all your local papers, such as eco community newsletters, eco association newspapers, etc
4. Ask friends – who are the “go to” green people in your town? Find them and ask them

Through option #3 is how i came across Larry Smith. In my local monthly electric association paper, Larry Smith was featured on the cover. The headline read, “Timely Art From E-waste”. I was immediately at attention as this topic is one i have a great deal of interest in, and best part is he is a local. Sweet!

How To Turn PC Scrap Into Art

In the article Larry mentions how he built a clock with scrap parts over 20 years ago, and how he has always been an environmentally conscious person. Did Larry Smith invent pc scrap clock art? That is debatable, but one thing is for sure, he still has a love affair with Mother Earth.

He built his first clock 20 years ago by mounting a battery-powered clock onto a printed circuit board. But he didn’t pick up the hobby again until last year, yielding to the urge to experiment with various kinds and combinations of electronic components.

He recently picked up the practice again, and now exhibits his pc clock art at various fairs and markets in Jackson, Mississippi.

If you’re wondering how he does it, he gets used pc parts and scraps from local pc shops and then dismantles each and creates one of a kind clocks. Each piece is handmade and features a recycled computer part, usually a circuit board.

Smith, a former environmental engineer, takes great pride in knowing he is giving new life to old gadgetry, which most definitely would have ended up in a local landfill.

His pc clock art pieces are not sold via his website, but maybe Smith will realize just how cool his pieces are and will enable online orders soon. For now, the only way to score one of his pc clocks is to visit him in Mississippi at the monthly Old Town Market, or the weekly Belhaven Market.

Nice to know you can save the world one clock at a time.

via PC Scrap Art