By Dustin Barnes
Daily Times Leader

Going green means more today that it used to. Part of an ongoing national trend, everyone from the president to West Point is taking active strides to be more eco-friendly.
Larry Smith, a clockmaker from south-central Mississippi, turned his love for understanding electronic devices into a trade that uses recycled electronic parts and equipment to make interestingly designed clocks.
Smith and his clocks will both be present at the Prairie Arts Festival this year, setting up in a booth in the sea of other vendors off of Commerce Street.
“I can make these clocks from anything from old video recording equipment to older computer parts,” Smith said of his techno-inspired time pieces. “I can use just about any electronic device, even vacuum tubes in some of the larger clocks.”
While Smith said he will be bringing 100 of his smaller clocks and six to 10 of his larger creations, measuring 1-2 inches in diameter and up to 6 feet tall, to his vendor's booth at the 31st Annual Prairie Arts Festival.
“I've been doing this seriously for about the past couple of years,” Smith pointed out. “I designed my first clock around 25 years ago.”
Smith added that he would design the time pieces for his friends on occasion until he realized there was an interest in his creations.
Recently profiled in state media, Smith said he was featured in the July-August issue of “Mississippi Gardner” in an article on extreme recycling.
“I believe we put so many things in a landfill that we can still get a good use of out,” Smith said. “There is a way for us to make something that is aesthetically beautiful and still save the environment.”
While Smith admitted that his recycling of electronic parts, CD's and other equipment does not clean out all the landfills, he said that he knew each clock he made was creating a small impact on the earth.
“So even when I know that I made a few clocks to reduce the impact, I think it's a good thing,” Smith continued.
The Prairie Arts Festival has traditionally provided a showcase for artists across the region to show off their wares.
This year's festival coordinator, Lisa Klutts, said she was amazed at Smith's creations.
“I'm going to have to buy something from him,” she said.
Among the other art on sale, ranging from paintings to pottery to distressed picture frames, an item Klutts deemed as “very popular this year,” Smith's one of a kind clocks will be available for interested shoppers who want to add a unique piece of art to their homes or businesses, all while promoting a “green-friendly” practice.