Southington Trash Sculptor Putting Out A Few Sweet Pieces

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Stephanie Hongo loves to talk trash. She's kind of entitled because, after all, she's turned it into an art form.

"People ask what I do and I say I'm a trash sculptor," Hongo said Tuesday in an interview with Patch. "I've tried to explain to a couple of people what I am doing, then they're, like, 'Whaaaaat?' Trash sculpting is basically what it is ...."

The Southington resident added the questions can "be even more involved," but she always turns to the simplified answer. Hongo, through her artist name of "Sugarfox," turns something people don't want anymore into art.

"I had a regular job for about five years that I really liked," Hongo said. "But then it started to feel different and, well, I began having the thought that it wasn't working out."

Hongo said she followed her heart and "left with nothing lined up" to pursue a dream.

"I wanted to be a freelance artist, but I did not have a lot of funding for supplies," she said. "Trash is something readily available, and I've always like the work of (Portuguese artist) Bordalo II. So I tried to make it work in my style.

"As an artist, you're always hoping for a commission, but, for now, I'm making it work on a smaller scale and hope people will be buying."

"Yondu" by trash artist Stephanie Hongo. (Stephanie Hongo)

"Brimley" by trash artist Stephanie Hongo. (Stephanie Hongo)

Hondo's works are primarily fashioned out of plastic pieces, things easily obtainable from her personal trash collection and contributions from various sources.

For example, when recently creating a fish, Hongo used excess plastic copper piping insulation from her boyfriend, an HVAC technician. The eye is a holiday ornament, and there are plastic magnets in the creation as well.

In her favorite piece, a deer named "Yondu" that hangs in her home, the ears are the plastic paper plate holders often used at picnics.

Children's toys are very useful, she said. Another piece — a bear — features ears made out of discarded remote controls.

Before moving to Southington, the 34-year-old Hongo graduated from Shelton High School and Western Connecticut State University. She has an educational art background and teaches art part time.

Her passion, though, is sculpting — and she now has an extensive supply line.

"I have a big heap — yes I said heap — of trash accumulated over the past couple of years," Hongo said. "It's all clean, and my basement is set up to facilitate it, and I will eventually categorize it all. It started with my town trash, stuff like yogurt containers and an old purse I no longer use. And, as word has spread around with family, friends and social media, I have accumulated a lot of sources."

Most of Hongo's pieces are mounted on a base for wall displays. She said she will be getting her welding certification and then can make larger, free-standing pieces.

Hongo takes orders primarily through her Sugarfox_art Instagram account.

Her works can also be seen on her Sugarfox website.

"I like the idea of facilitating trash into something other than a landfill," Hongo said. "Right now, it's been OK. With art, you can't count your chickens, but his is my main gig. It's my dream to earn from what I make."