Painting What the Ocean Can’t Say: Sandy Treasures on Plastic Pollution, Trashy Mermaids & Art That Changes Minds

What if a painting could make a stranger stop, listen — and cry? In this episode of the Junk to Jewels Podcast, Georgette Beck sits down with Sandy Treasures — artist, author, environmental advocate, and Treasure Coast local — for a conversation about art that doesn’t just decorate walls. It tells the truth. Born in Chicago and raised in Colombia, Sandy spent decades exploring her artistic gifts — from automotive airbrushing and oil portraits to murals, body art, tattoos, and handmade crafts. After nearly 17 years in the tattoo industry, she found herself at a crossroads, throwing spaghetti at the wall and searching for what would stick.   Then came the painting that changed everything: the last living mermaid in the Dead Sea — crafting necklaces from plastic straws, wearing bottle cap earrings, sporting a six-pack holder on her wrist, and stringing fish skeletons onto a floating bottle just to pretend that life was still alive around her.   People walked right past it. So Sandy started telling the story out loud. And they stopped. And they cried. And a little girl said: “You should write a book.”   That book — Trashy Mermaid in the Plastic Pollution Legacy — is now available on Amazon, illustrated with Sandy’s original environmental awareness paintings, many of them created on repurposed surfboards.   In this episode, Sandy and Georgette dive deep — from the science of ocean acidification and microplastics to the surprising frequency of fabric and what the Bible says about mixing linen and wool. This one is equal parts eye-opening, heart-stirring, and beautifully weird.   In This Episode: Sandy’s journey: Chicago to Colombia, nanny work in Miami, airbrushing, tattoos, and the gift shop that didn’t stick The painting that started everything — the last living mermaid in the Dead Sea How Sandy began telling the story out loud to strangers — and why it made everyone cry The little girl who said “You should write a book” Trashy Mermaid in the Plastic Pollution Legacy — and what’s inside Painting on repurposed surfboards from Facebook Marketplace The Great Pacific Garbage Patch — the size of two Texases Ocean acidification and what it’s doing to shellfish We consume the equivalent of a credit card’s worth of microplastics every month The frequency of fabrics: why linen and wool heal, and why polyester might not Practical swaps: bamboo, paper bags, biodegradable shoes, and saying no to single-use plastics Upcoming events: the Children’s Museum and Botanical Gardens Rapid fire: A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, Sadhguru, Ayurveda, and her personal mantra   Sandy’s Mantra: “I’m not going to drown in a puddle.” — Sandy Treasures   Find Sandy Treasures: Website: sandytreasuresinc.com Book: Trashy Mermaid in the Plastic Pollution Legacy — available on Amazon Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok: @SandyTreasuresInc   Sandy Treasures was born in Chicago and raised in Colombia, S.A. She returned to the United States at age 19, and is a natural-born artist who began exhibiting her talents at a very young age. She studied fashion design at Boulder College in Fort Lauderdale and went on to freelance in oil portraits, automotive airbrush art, body art, tattoos, murals, and handmade crafts. Now Sandy is fully dedicated to environmental awareness art, exposing the plastic pollution legacy left in our oceans. Her debut book, Trashy Mermaid in the Plastic Pollution Legacy, is available on Amazon.   Connect with Georgette:   Website: https://www.georgettebeck.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/GeorgetteBeckWriter Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/georgette.beck/   📘 Grab Georgette's book, Junk to Jewels, on Amazon - https://a.co/d/0bx3ggnO   🔔 Subscribe, rate & share — your support helps these stories reach the people who need them most.