Local artist turns Trash into Treasure

Local artist Marita Dingus has a cheerful demeanor, but a serious message.

“My art is about being Black, being of African descent, being looked down upon globally. Why is it dark skin is seen as something that’s bad? It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever,” Dingus said.

“You don’t try to destroy a people because they are not you. You know it feels like it’s more important now than ever before.”

She has made a career out of sculpting abstract human figures out of materials usually headed to the landfill.

She told KIRO7 that upon completing her master’s program in college in 1985, she offered the art she created as coursework for sale. She was pleasantly surprised when it sold.

She has had consistent success selling her works, saying, “I haven’t counted, but I’ve sold a lot, between six and eight hundred, just an insane amount,” she said.

Her works are displayed in museums, schools, public buildings, and galleries in the Puget Sound region and beyond.

One highlight was having an abstract sculpture of her son shown in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. She says, “Once it’s sold I’m blissfully happy that it’s gonna have life beyond my living room”.

Her inspiration came at a very young age, with assistance from her father, who was a Boeing engineer.

He would bring home stacks of surplus paper, and five-year-old Marita was delighted.

“I made paper dolls as a little girl. I became really good at it because I was so happy with my little paper dolls, so I said being an artist would be fun,” she said.

Another confidence boost came later, when Dingus was attending St Anthony’s Elementary School in Renton. Her Catholic nun teachers made copies of Marita’s drawings for the fellow students to color in.

Marita’s work will be featured in a group exhibition at the Traver Gallery in Seattle’s Interbay neighborhood on Saturday, July 12, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., and she will also have a solo show in Spring 2026.

“I’m so grateful to the public for looking at my work because you all didn’t have to, but you chose to look at it. So anyway, it’s been good. I’m happy.”