Nancy Zimmermann

As a child growing up in suburban Westchester County north of New York City, Nancy Zimmermann was an obsessive artist. "My mother recalls that I would sit and draw for five or six hours," she says. Zimmermann also remembers the small amphibians that lived in ponds near her home, and the dawning of environmental awareness. "I was angry when yuppies moved in and used herbicides," she says. "Before long the frogs were gone." Zimmermann met her partner, Simon Strange, when both were students at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and returned with him after graduation to his home town of Eugene. Now the mother of two young children, she volunteers 20 hours a week as director of MECCA, the Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts. "It combines my interests in art and in environmental sustainability," she notes. Founded in 2002, MECCA accepts donations of surplus plastic, paper, textiles, and other materials, sells these art supplies for low prices, and offers workshops for kids and adults in its studio at 43 W Broadway. Learn about hours, donations, volunteer opportunities, and special events at <www.materials-exchange.org>.

happening people photograph and story by Paul Neevel Eugene Weekly / 23 February 2006