During the week of April 15-21, University of the Ozarks celebrated the spirit of Earth Day with a series of events, all designed to raise awareness and environmental issues and promote stewardship of the earth.?But three of the events were planned with something else in mind - to bring out the creative talents of the students who entered the competitions.
Recycled Art Contest
The first competition, a Recycled Art Contest, was intended to show the creative and sometimes unexpected uses of materials that might normally end up in the trash. Students were asked to take these types of materials and recycle them into a work of art. The results were some innovative and fun creations that were as beautiful as they were unique.
Catalina Chen received first place in the contest with her pickle jar "snow globe."
"I started folding origami cranes a few years ago, when one of my Korean friends taught me how," Chen said. "Ever since, I have been experimenting with different sizes and materials. For my project, I folded the cranes using magazines paper, scrap paper and even a candy wrapper. Then I strung them up with thread and taped them to the lid of the glass jar, making sure that they would hang at different heights. The bottom of the jar I covered with bits and scraps of things that I thought would represent a forest floor. I used tiny gray beads from a broken bracelet, curls of green paper, scraps of ribbon that I made into flowers and pieces of string that I made into monkey-fist knots. Then I screwed the lid into the jar and there it was, a little habitat for my origami cranes. I had a lot of fun making this project!"
"The delicate use of the materials placed into the pickle jar ‘snow globe’ creates an environment in which these tiny creatures exist," said Tammy Harrington, Ozarks Associate Professor of Art, who was a judge for the contest.