“Blue Wave” is a public sculpture by Long Beach artist Sonja Schenk, made from a custom clay created with recycled paper and embedded with pieces of recycled plastic, a form of plastic and carbon capture that results in a colorful work that is both functional and beautiful. This public art piece will be made with direct community participation: residents will bring in plastic refuse to be cleaned, chipped, and layered into the sculpture, removing the harmful material from local waterways and confining it permanently within a lasting work of art. Composed of solid slabs, each strata representing a unique community or cleanup event, “Blue Wave” will form a towering spiral that resembles an organic sea stack rock formation and will be displayed at a public waterfront location in Long Beach. Supported in part by a grant from the Arts Council for Long Beach and the City of Long Beach.