Secrets revealed, trashy stories told as Art @ Dump comes on April 26

CORNWALL — A challenge, of sorts, has been issued. Art @ the Dump — Cornwall’s premier exhibit of repurposed materials into a wide range of media — is coming up at the end of this month. For those who haven’t gotten to work already, there is still time to stir those creative juices, find some junk and turn it into treasure. Things to know and love about Art @ the Dump:•Anyone can submit their work. No artistic credentials or particular talent are required.• Pieces may be listed for sale, with a third of the proceeds going to the Cornwall Consolidated School art department. • It’s held in the sand shed at the town highway department.• Everyone gets to vote for their favorite pieces to win “trashophies.” • It is recycling raised to, literally, an art form.Not to be dissuasive, but organizers have revealed what they are calling a “triple threat” in this year’s competition for the world’s greatest recycled art.“Denise Bate and her two daughters, Jesse and Samantha, have spent this long, snowy winter preparing for Art @ The Dump,” event originator Gail Jacobson wrote in a press release. “The clever trio has made ‘practical art’ every year since the show debuted 14 years ago. They scour the Internet and craft and the ever popular ‘flea market-type’ magazines for their inspirations, but many times an item itself will suggest an idea. Denise is making items from clementine boxes this year ‘because it KILLS me to throw them out.’” The prolific family has made every type of art, from Kool-Aid pouch flags to birdcages made from gutter guards. Current projects involve mayonnaise jars, used pencils and tin cans.“Undoubtedly, these humble materials will evolve into magnificent treasures that never fail to delight art aficionados. Their works sell out every year,” Jacobson wrote. Art @ The Dump will be held, rain (snow) or shine, at the Cornwall Transfer Station on Route 4 on Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, April 27, 10 a.m. to noon. Admission is free. Art may be submitted by anyone, regardless of age, residence, etc. Submissions should be dropped off between 8 and 10 a.m. on Saturday, and unsold art must be collected at noon Sunday. For more information, including submission forms, go to www.artatthedump.homestead.com.