Students at Redwood Get 1st and 2nd place in the “EcoCreate” Art Contest

By: Monica Aviles

Madison Arnold, ‘21, took first place, while Seneca Sowers, ’22, came in 2nd place (9 – 12th grades category).

In support of Earth Day and recycling, Visalia’s Environmental Committee sponsored their first annual recycle art contest, “Ecocreate.” Originally, the winner’s art work was going to be displayed at the city’s annual Earth Day celebration, but due to Covid-19 and the pandemic, the event was cancelled. However the  Ecocreate art contest still took place, with the deadline for entries being August 15, 2020, and the winners announced September 13, 2020.

The purpose of the Ecocreate contest was to create a piece of artwork, using only recyclable items. Some rules the participants had to follow were using no paint, having the artwork to be no larger than 24×30 inches with no framing, and the art piece had to be built sturdy enough to stand upright. All entries had to be submitted through email with pictures of multiple angles of the project, a picture of the recycled items, and the artist working on their project. 

The participants were divided into categories by grade, and there was also an adult category. The judges for the contest were an art teacher, an administrator and a professional artist. The art was judged on: Artistic technique, visual balance, originality, workmanship, and adherence to guidelines. 

The contest was organized by Kathy Falconer, the co-chair of Visalia Earth Day 2020 committee, “Created to help celebrate Earth Day 2020, the Ecocreate Art Contest was open to Visalia students and adults across Tulare County…We asked artists to only use recyclables in their pieces and to really provide a wow factor and they did not disappoint!”(City of Visalia News).

Madison Arnold ‘21, who is  currently in 3D art, and has many artistic hobbies, won first place, (9 – 12 grades category) in the Ecocreate contest. She won a $100 Amazon card, and first heard about the contest in March 2020 from her art teacher, Mrs. Yates, who encouraged her to try it out.

Arnold worked on her project named, “The Sweetest Bride” for about four days, mainly using wrappers of Starburst candies and, “a plastic water bottle, my dog’s old fetch ball that she no longer played with, recycled packaging foam, gum wrappers and popsicle sticks for support. I also used cardboard cereal boxes for the hair and buttons for the eyes.”

She was inspired to create her art piece when her mother bought her a  box of Starburst candies, “I started saving the wrappers and vowed to make something artsy out of them. I decided on a bride because I had seen poofy, layered, dresses, and thought I could make the layers of the dress out of the wrappers.”

Throughout her process of forming her art piece, Arnold learned how important it is to “focus on the details in order to make the art more special,” and about “perseverance and not giving up when something didn’t work right.” She explains the importance of Earth, “Earth day and recycling encourage people to take care of our Earth. Recycling is one way to ensure the earth is around for future generations.”

She also thinks that this whole event would look differently if It wasn’t for Covid-19, “Instead, the actual art would have been displayed at the Earth Day Celebration. There was supposed to be “people’s choice” judging and the awards were supposed to be presented at the event.”

Arnold plans on getting into an art college to further her passion in art, “I thought this project would look good on my portfolio. Winning first prize was really a surprise! My parents gave me the letter to read. When I saw the words “FIRST PLACE”, my eyes went bug eyed.”

Seneca Sowers, ‘22, who’s involved with CSF and the Varsity Softball team at Redwood, received 2nd place, (9 – 12 grades category) and also won an Amazon gift card. She first heard about the contest from her mother who encouraged her to participate in the art contest.

Sowers worked on her project named, “Fabio’s Flowers” for about a month, “I made the flowers out of plastic bottles and was wanting to get a stained glass look, so I had to heat the plastic strips that I cut out from the bottles over a little flame…To make the flower box, I took a small cardboard box and put layers of newspaper over it to create a paper-mache box. I then stuffed the inside of the box with newspaper and was able to arrange the flowers inside.” 

Her idea of the flower box was inspired by an Italian artist who she took a class from in Italy, “The artist made Murano glass, (An Italian art where artists blow glass and make beautiful jewelry and other kinds of artwork out of glass). That’s how I came up with my idea to use plastic so it would look like the Murano glass.” She’s continuing to take art classes such as 3D 2 art, and really enjoys experimenting with art.

Throughout this experience, she was able to learn, “that whenever you want to make something…you need to take your time creating something that has meaning to you, because you’ll enjoy the process of constructing it even more.” She also realized even more “how important it is to recycle and to be environmentally friendly.”

Sowers explained how Earth Day should be celebrated everyday, “Recycling is something that everyone should partake in, because it is something that is very simple to do, but makes a huge difference in our environment…Every day you need to make choices that are going to benefit and better our Earth, by doing little things like recycling plastic bottles and glass, buying rechargeable batteries…and much more. Overall, you can make our earth a better and healthier place to live.”

She is very thankful for this experience and opportunity, “ It was very fun, and it taught people the importance of recycling, and how things that society may view as “trash” can be made into something beautiful.”

To view the winning art pieces from all grade categories, visit the Fox Theater Box office now through September 23, 2020, or visit the Visalia City’s Facebook page.

Tags: art, art contest, arts and entertainment, earth, Earthday, Ecocreate, recycle