This conversation was recorded live at Lumpen Radio in Chicago on Saturday, January 10, 2026.

Ep # 100: Chicago Artist Deirdre Fox on Turning Plastic Waste into Environmental Art & Visual Poetry

Summary of the episode

Chicago-based artist Deirdre Fox joins noseyAF for a live, unedited conversation from 105.5 FM Lumpen Radio about art, plastic waste, and environmental consciousness. Deirdre’s practice transforms discarded consumer packaging into drawings, fiber works, and installations that challenge how we think about disposability, permanence, and material value.

In this episode, host Stephanie Graham talks with Deirdre about her artistic journey, the idea of visual poetry, and how mindfulness—both in making and consuming—shapes her work. Together, they explore the tension between organic and synthetic materials, the limits of recycling, and the role artists play in addressing environmental responsibility through creative practice.

This conversation invites listeners to slow down, look closer, and reconsider the materials that move through their everyday lives.

What we talk about

Transforming plastic consumer packaging into drawings, fiber works, and installations
Visual poetry and storytelling through material
Mindfulness, consumption, and environmental responsibility
The evolution of Deirdre’s artistic practice from representational to abstract work
Making art that lives in the tension between permanence and disposability

Chapters:

• 00:00 - Introduction to noseyAF

• 02:30 - Deirdre's Artistic Journey with Plastic Waste

• 15:20 - Reflecting on Pouch Cove

• 29:36 - Finding One's Voice in Art

• 42:56 - Balancing Time and Creativity

• 52:13 - Exploring Artistic Processes and Sustainability

• 58:43 - Exploring Artistic Collaborations

All about… Deirdre Fox

You’re gonna love Deirdre they’re a Chicago-based artist turning everyday plastic waste into visually refined, quietly radical works of environmental reflection.

Deirdre Fox crochets and weaves plastic consumer packaging into drawings, fiber pieces, and drawing installations. Her work functions as personal gestures of environmental consciousness, rooted in the understanding that plastics made for convenience—like single-use bags—last far longer than intended, and that recycling alone is not an adequate solution.

Her practice questions systems of built-in obsolescence and accumulated waste, while creating visual poems that hold time, care, and material awareness. Deirdre has exhibited at FlexSpace Riverside Art Center, Hyde Park Art Center, Boundary Chicago, Evanston Art Center, the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Koehnline Museum of Art Gallery, and the Swedish American Museum, among others. She has received multiple grants from the City of Chicago and the Illinois Arts Council and maintains her studio at Mana Contemporary Chicago.

Sponsor Shoutout 💖

This episode is brought to you by Artist Admin Hour

Get your work done with structure, with company. Check out Artist Admin Hour at missgraham.com/artistadminhour

Connect with Deirdre Fox

Instagram: @deirdre_fox_art
Website: http://www.artbydado.com/

Connect with Stephanie

Support & Feedback

Episode Credits

Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Me, Stephanie (teaching myself audio editing!)

Recorded Live at Lumpen Radio

Lyrics: Queen Lex

Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam

Cover Art + Branding: Emma McGoldrick