2022-2023

Kansas City Winners

Elementary School

Colin’s Artist Statement: “This year's challenge was to create art about extreme weather. I drew a house that is in a flood on one side that has the words GET UP HIGH meaning get high up in your house to avoid the flood. On the other side the house is close to a tornado and words reading GET DOWN LOW to avoid the flood. In my work I am trying to say if there is a natural disaster don't panic. Do the normal procedures that you would in that situation. For example if there is a tornado like in my drawing get down in your basement so you are safe.I made the artwork the way I did because I tried many different styles, techniques, and most of all different ideas. My first idea was to draw a plane and above the plane was a storm and below was a city. That lasted until I found out I couldn't draw planes. Then I thought of drawing a funny comic strip until I couldn't figure out what to draw. At last I thought of the idea that I have now. I learned new ways to use art materials. For example I learned how to shade three dimensional objects. Also blending colored pencils was a big challenge but i finally figured it out. Lastly coloring over colored pencils with white makes it brighter (don't know how i didn't think of that earlier) I hope if people see my artwork they will learn What to do if there is a flood or a tornado. I learned so many art techniques like shading. What inspired me for the tornado was my mom had a friend that had a tornado destroy her house but she was in the basement so she was unharmed, and for the flood I wanted to depict what natural disasters would be like in other parts of the world because we don't get many floods in Kansas.”

Tvisha’s Artist Statement: “In my work, I want people to learn how to get ready for flooding. I am showing all the important stages of flood preparation planning and emergency items we need to be ready with. First, I researched about floods because we need to know what flooding is before learning how to get ready for floods. We need to disconnect electricity, prepare an emergency bag, go to higher surface, put some floating devices, practice a flood evacuation route with your family, Keep important items like documents as high as you can. I noticed while watching the news a few people were rescued from the top of their roof in Kansas during the floods. The Overland Park Fire Department rescued a few people from the roof of their vehicle, but a few people drowned. This inspired me to research more on how to get prepared for flooding. While researching and making my poster, I learned a lot about how we can be ready for flooding based on the area you live in and types of possible flooding that can happen. Though Flooding is a Natural disaster we can be ready and have the best planning to reduce the impact and losses. I hope that when people look at my poster, they will get to know flooding preparation and what Emergency items to carry and be safe and healthy. I was inspired to draw this challenge as I live in Kansas and every year people are evacuated because of flooding. Cool Science art competition inspired me to work with new art supplies in a fun, new, and interesting way.”

Dhruv’s Artist Statement: “How did you address the challenge question in your artwork? I addressed it by showing people that there are changes in how people live. I am trying to say is that people react differently in different weather. I did it so that other people could understand my artwork in a fun way. Yes, because I used the art materials in a way so people could understand my artwork. I hope people will learn that people around the world experienced different temperatures. I learned that people around the world react differently in other climates My mom, My dad, My brother, and my sister inspired me by helping me by giving me ideas that can be changed, like adding a christmas tree and and adding a beach that tells the weather forecast. I also drew on the other side someone playing outside. I put different doors in other sides that shows on one side someone at the beach, and on the other doors I drew People wearing clothing like jackets, and in another door I drew someone really cold because it is winter and I also drew someone at the tropical weather and he says that he’s warm outside to represent that it is warm outside.”

Miyra’s Artist Statement: “What are you trying to say in your work? I was trying to show a way to have your house be unable to not be washed away during a flood, but still allow you to be safe. If you were unable to escape your house during a flood or during big waves, the stilts under the house keep you safe because they are durable. Why did you create your artwork in the way you did? My reason for creating my artwork the way I did is because I was thinking about the general consequences during a flood. I drew a house out of the water, that safely kept everyone inside, while still being able to withstand stress. Did the art competition encourage you to work with art materials in a new way? Yes, the art competition encouraged me to use material with which I am unfamiliar. While my preference would be to use Posca ( paint markers ) and canvas, I used colored pencils and markers to create a blueprint for the finished design. What did you learn? I learned how to create solutions by looking at pictures of flooded areas and used my imagination. I also had thought of a way to save people and their property by creating ways to handle a natural disaster. What inspired you? I was inspired by a story my dad told me about volunteering to help the national guard with flood relief. I was also visually inspired by images of flooded areas.”

Stuti’s Artist Statement: “I addressed the challenge question in my artwork by showing before a flood, during a flood, and after a flood and what you should do in each of the different stages. I was trying to say that it is possible to stay safe during a flood and you just need to follow some simple steps. It represents the notes I took during my research time and displays the information in a neat, good-looking way which I think is going to be eye-catching. I didn’t use any new art materials in a new way but I was able to make my art skills better with this competition. I hope people will learn all the safety tips I included in my poster and also how to stay safe during a flood. I didn’t know anything about staying safe during a flood and learned a lot about this certain natural disaster and all the safety tips to have during one. I was really sad when floods came to people and people passed away. I didn’t want that to keep happening so I learned about safety and am trying to share this information with other people.”

Middle School

Kritika’s Artist Statement: “To address the challenge question, I represented zooming into areas of the world and constructed a visual of some of the natural disasters that people from around the world are faced with. My personal experience with extreme temperatures has been relatively undisturbed, considering the area I live in has rainy springs, sweaty summers, chilly autumns, and snowy winters. In the Midwestern area of the USA, the average high is 85°F and the average low is 15°F, bringing the average temperature to a fairly warm 50°F. In terms of weather, heat waves, floods, blizzards, droughts, cold waves, and tornado warnings especially are a common occurrence. However, in several other countries and continents, the temperatures and weather can look very different. South America has an average of 86°F with heavy rainfall, causing floods, heat waves, earthquakes, and droughts. Africa’s temperature remains 63.5°F annually, and landslides, droughts, and floods can be observed. In Europe, it ranges approximately between 50° to 70°F, many regions in Europe having a history of floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and serious storms. I hope that when looking at my poster, people understand the variety and severity of weather on different continents that many people have to endure. More notably, I hope they acknowledge the effect climate change is having on the planet and how much worse our current situation could get. My goal was to express this through my poster, while keeping it eye-catching and uncomplicated.”

Kansas City Runner-Ups

Elementary School

Kayleigh’s Artist Statement: “I made a camper because it can hold a lot of people but it is also small too. It works by a button that lets the wings out. Then there is a lever to let out a tail which hits rocks away from the vehicle. It can go underwater to get away from earthquakes and can go on land to get away from whirlpools and hurricanes. Also, can fly so if both are happening or people are stuck in Hawaii when a volcano is erupting it can get them to safety. I hope that maybe it could help a lot of people if it is ever built. Maybe it will encourage people to build something like this to save people in severe weather. Also, I drew a bird to show that this vehicle is fierce and that it can keep an flying high like the bird. I drew fish to represent that it is colorful even when it is maybe the darkest day and night and also to show that it is fast and brave. I drew seven fish to show that it is strong like a family’s bond. I hope this gave you imagination and will help the future soon!”

Middle School

Alisha’s Artist Statement: The way I addressed the challenge question in my artwork was by drawing the exit for when a flood happens (since when the rest of the severe weather gets canceled) and what vehicle rescues the people on the bus. What I am trying to say in my work is the exit for when a flood happens, and I drew a helicopter and a boat to show that those vehicles help out to rescue the people on the bus. Yes, The art competition did encourage me to work with art materials in a new way, like blending color nicely, or how to draw a bus/helicopter. What I am hoping people will from my artwork of what the exits are for when a flood is happening. I learned that the bus routes usually get canceled for snow/ice storms or, thunderstorms, because the weather is usually displayed on the weather app. When I was looking for a tutorial on how to draw a flood scene, there was this one video that stood out to me particularly this one video where the drawing was very detailed but not messy and there shading/blending was on point.

Ryann’s Artist Statement: I want to show how people in different areas around the world cope with different extreme weathers. For my artwork I decided to show one person split in half. One half is in extreme cold weather and one's in extreme heat. This represents the weather around the world. I used warm colors and chose clothing to keep them cool on the warm side and on the cold side I used colors to show the cold and put warm clothes on them to keep them warm. When I started drawing the warm side I thought of places with big rock formations and desert like but not just sand but had a very warm harsh light look. For the cold side I thought about mountains, ice and snow. I used pencil to sketch and then used water colors and then used color pencils to line it. I used these mediums to make the artwork pop and allow it to show different shading to give it depth. I choose to make the lines messier to make it look more real. The person's skin on the warm side has become darker from being tanned. This was to show the reality of different extreme temperatures. From my art I hope that people learn that people around the world experience extreme temperatures differently and this allows them to prepare for the weather. I want to show that just because it is extreme temperatures doesn't always mean it is extreme weather or a storm and to prepare for the area they are in.

Ahaan’s Artist Statement: “With the question I picked, the first thing that came to mind was to draw a single bus and add a lot of modifications. I then decided to pick 3 disasters that occurred more here and modify buses on those. In my work, I am saying that I have built a bus that can safely transport you wherever you need to go. I made my work into segments and I did not want to leave any white on the poster, so I added as much color as I could because of the different segments. I also tried to draw the buses without the modifications as replicas but that was difficult. I really only used colored pencils, markers, and a sharpie so I didn’t particularly learn any new ways to use those, but it definitely refined some of my art skills. When people see my work, I really want them to think 2 things, the first is, in the future, we will be able to make such buses which will most likely save people’s lives. The second is that children have plans for safety from natural causes so listening to what children say might come in handy. I learned that there are a lot of things we need to think about before we start modifying because of everything that can happen. I might have missed a few things as well. I think what inspired me was the fact that people were getting injured and dying each day because they didn't have proper safety.”