By Camila Arguedas
Have you ever wondered how to reduce the amount of everyday trash from your house? There are many ways to reduce some types of trash, such as plastic, tin foil, aluminum, glass and organic waste. But what can be done to the rest of the trash that is thrown away? Some material that people throw away can be reused in many creative ways. One of the ways is art.
Art can be anything, or be made out of anything. So why not reuse materials that will end up as garbage to make a beautiful piece of art? A group of students from La Paz Community School has been working on a unique type of painting. The portraits are being made of natural landscapes or wild animals. The paintings have a very appealing aspect because they are created to be unique. The students have to use many different materials to create the 3-D effect, but most of the materials were found in their homes.
You may be wondering how it works. First of all, the students have to make or find a drawing to start the project. Then, they have to find the materials to create the 3-D effect on the drawing. These can be eggshells, sand, coffee grounds, egg cartons or natural objects such as dried branches and leaves. After creating the sketch, the young painter covers it with the material to create the 3-D effect to give it texture and make it stand out. This makes a simple tree drawing become outstanding.
The art class would like to thank Miss Vilma for inventing this after-school class for the students. Everyone who tries out this new painting technique won’t stop doing it because it is fun and helps the environment be a bit cleaner.
Camila Arguedas is a Costa Rican eighth-grader at La Paz Community School in Flamingo, on the northern Pacific coast.
