I added the turtle as a way to draw an emotional response from the viewer upon the first look of the quilt block. The turtle is filled with stuffing to allow it to pop out from the rest of the quilt block, and I worked to create a cartoon like turtle as a more per say “adorable” aspect to help with the emotional response by reaching to the childhood aspect of each person. I surrounded the turtle in garbage to show the reality these animals are living every day in the ocean. One key feature about the garbage surrounding the turtle is the six-pack rings that I placed around the turtle’s neck to demonstrate how marine life is getting strangled by the plastic in the water causing them to die in a miserable way. Marine life is trapped in this polluted water with nowhere else to go but into the garbage itself.

On the quilt block I added a Walmart grocery bag that was from my personal grocery trip. I wanted to have a personal connection to this piece and have the viewer relate to the piece as most people have shopped themselves at this establishment somewhere in the world. I was careful with the placement of the single use Walmart bag. When placing it on the quilt block, I framed the Walmart logo to be sure it was seen by the viewer. I wanted to have the logo be visible so that the viewer can understand that large companies are also at fault for this large-scale problem of water pollution. 

On the quilt block I added my personal garbage to add a more personal aspect to this piece. I wanted to feel connected to this quilt block as the issue of water pollution is becoming a dangerous problem worldwide. I used bubble wrap that came in the packages I had ordered, a Walmart single use bag from my groceries, drink wrappers, Poptart and granola wrappers, etc. I was careful of the placement of this garbage to be sure it didn’t just appear as if I placed garbage on some fabric. I added facts about the plastic that is in the water to the quilt block and then proceeded to surround them with my personal garbage. I wanted the facts to stand out on this block to draw the viewer in to look closer and maybe look closer at the garbage pieces I added. The viewer then may proceed to think about the garbage they produce themselves.