In observance of Earth Day, OLPH’s Student Council invited students in preschool through 8th grade to create and submit recycled art pieces. Recycled artwork had to be made entirely of recycled material. Students who entered had a chance to win recognition in one of the three categories: Most Creative, Most Original, and Beauty. Preschoolers through third graders were judged in a lower grade bracket, and the fourth graders through eighth graders were judged in an upper grade bracket.
The winners in the Preschool through third grade bracket are: Luis Carlo and his “Batman Car” made of yarn, beads, foam and washers of paper; Lia Covarrubias with “Rosie the Robot” made of plastic water bottles, aluminum foil, paper, and ribbon; and Ariana Chaparro with “Glass Heart” made of broken CD pieces and a paper plate.
The winners in the fourth grade through eighth grade bracket are: Edgar Flores and his “Marshmello (DJ)” made of plastic water bottles; Ryan Jernigan with “Megabyte” made of cardboard and plastic bottles; and Isabella Rose Diaz with her “Dollhouse” made of popsicle sticks, straws, CDs, shoeboxes, fabric, and aluminum foil.
In his encyclical, Laudato Si, Pope Francis laments, “The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.” OLPH’s Recycled Art Show inspire students to answer the questions: How do we add beauty to the world instead of more rubbish? How can we answer God’s call to be stewards of His creation instead of contributors to a throwaway culture? In a small way, the Recycled Art Show’s entries are a response to God’s call. Items that would otherwise end up in a landfill transformed into things of beauty.
All of the Recycled Art Show entries can be seen on OLPH’s Instagram account at @olphindio or Facebook page at facebook.com/OLPHindio.