The art department chairman at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks has issued a call for 200 empty plastic water bottles for an unusual installation in Simi Valley.

Michael Pearce, who is fond of blending contemporary art with prehistory, needs a total of 836 bottles for an Earth Day display April 22 at Simi Valley Town Center.

"We've been collecting empty 1-liter bottles on campus, but the drive has been going slower than I anticipated," he said. "Apparently, our students are doing a good job recycling the bottles."

Pearce's thirst for bottles comes because he and his students will suspend the bottles in an oak tree.

Several years ago, Pearce had a dream in which he saw a tree with hundreds of bottles on it. When Earth Day organizer Leticia Wilson, Town Center marketing director, recently asked Pearce to create an exhibit, he recalled that dream.

"Originally, I wanted to make a huge teardrop out of the bottles, but when I visited the Town Center site, I saw those amazing oak trees growing there, and they reminded me of my dream and my sketch," he said.

"The 836 bottles isn't an arbitrary number; it represents the amount of water bottles an average household will use in a year. A pretty impressive number since if we don't recycle plastic bottles, they end up in the landfill," Pearce said.

Pearce said the CLU faculty, staff and students who have already contributed have his collective thanks, "since I can't thank them individually," and share an earth-healthy consciousness and artistic vision. To symbolize the cycle of the elements — earth, water, fire and air — Pearce said, each clear bottle with be filled with air, pebbles and some ash to symbolize fire.

Students have begun working on the bottles, removing the labels. String will be tied around the neck of each container to prepare it for hanging from a fishing line in the oak tree.

The drive for bottles has not been without a hiccup. Pearce's CLU blog about art department happenings said a container had been set outside the CLU gallery for donated bottles. But that plan changed when the bottles were stolen.

"I love the oaks, so what a pleasure it is to make a dream a reality," Pearce said. He hopes that the artwork will "draw attention to the problem" of dooming recyclable plastic to a landfill.

Those interested in knowing more about the project can contact Pearce at 493-3316.