Angela Haseltine Pozzi

Angela Haseltine Pozzi was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1957.[1] Pozzi was born into an artistic family and spent much of her early life on the shores of the Oregon coast.[2] She attended the University of Utah earning a Bachelor's degree in education in 1984.[1] In 1990, she received her Master's in Education from Portland State University, with an emphasis in Art Education.[1]

Pozzi was a teacher for 30 years.[2] After the sudden death of her husband in 2002 she turned to the ocean for healing.[2] After seeing the detriment of plastic pollution along the Oregon coast, she soon realized the ocean also needed healing.[2] She researched the impact of plastic on marine life and in 2012 she founded the Washed Ashore Project.[2] With plastic debris collected from the beaches bordering Bandon, Oregon, she constructs large sculptures of marine life.[2] With the help of over 10,000 volunteers the organization has collected upwards of 40,000 pounds of waste and created 70 sculptures.[2]

Pozzi creates colorful sculptures from everyday waste items such as bottles and bags.[3] Her large-scale sculptures include a polar bear, puffin, jellyfish, and an octopus.[4] She personifies her sculptures by giving them human names, for example her sculpture titled Edward the Leatherback Sea Turtle.[4] Pozzi uses her work to educate the viewer on conservation and tries to engage them to think about the impacts of plastic use on marine environments.[5]