A Willamette University student spent five months turning scrap metal, paint and couch cushions from Portland's dump into eight original artworks.

Lalo Perez, a Bachelor of Fine Arts student in the Intermedia Arts program at Willamette's Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA), was the only undergraduate in the 2025-26 class of GLEAN. The juried residency pairs Portland-area artists with discarded materials from Metro Central Transfer Station. A panel of arts and environmental professionals picks each year's cohort.

GLEAN was founded in 2010 by Recology, Metro and the environmental arts group ReClaim It. The program focuses on reuse of discarded materials to prompt conversations about waste. Each artist receives a $3,000 stipend upon completion, according to a GLEAN program posting.

Perez told Willamette University they chose spring courses at PNCA to align with the residency after learning of the selection before enrollment. Faculty members Erin Doughton, Liza Rietz and Sara Huston each shaped the process. Perez credited Doughton's Performance class with changing how they saw materials and said Rietz's Construction and Sewing class built confidence with unfamiliar media.

Perez said Huston's Object and Design class was a highlight, calling her someone they "could nerd out about material with … all day." Classmates helped with skills like welding. "Everyone was so patient and understanding of how people learn," Perez said. "That went a long way."

Working in a studio in PNCA's Glass Building, Perez toured the transfer station's hazardous-waste area and collected metals, woods, glues, paint and couch cushions to build the pieces. The residency also included speaking on panels, which Perez said sharpened professional communication skills developed in the classroom.

Two PNCA graduate students, Mai Ide and Adia Gibbs, had previously completed the GLEAN program. Perez described the experience as a first attempt at building a cohesive body of work and acknowledged feeling overwhelmed early on. Conversations with classmates and instructors, Perez said, provided the grounding needed to push through.

The finished pieces were shown at GLEAN's 15th annual exhibition, which opened May 20 in Portland. Five artists displayed new work at the show.

Perez has since moved on to the Lab Program in Mexico City, studying queer theory in Latin America through work with abandoned construction sites.