2020-2021

Worcester

Winners

Elementary School

Margaret’s Artist Statement: “I really like playing outside and learning about nature. I learned about wetlands and how important they are to prevent flooding. My Meme took me on a field trip in my town of Boylston to see all of the wetlands including Rocky Pond, Spruce Pond, and Flagg Pond. Wetlands have peat moss that acts like a sponge that sucks up water. Grass, rocks, and roots in the wetlands slow down rain water and prevent flooding. Wetlands have soft bedding for animals to sleep on. Their plants give habitat for animals like fawns, birds, frogs, salamanders, and turtles. Skunk cabbage is food for bears and other animals. Cattails provide habitat for red-winged black birds, filter water, and prevent erosion. Moss and other plants act like a filter to collect dirty water and make it clean for animals and people to drink. We need to save the wetlands and stop building houses on wetlands. Protect wetlands, prevent flooding, and keep our world safe.”

Xavier’s Artist Statement: “I learned about different ways to stay warm, like options of putting a towel under a door to eating cinnamon. I choose to draw different pictures because I thought it would be easier to understand the different options you can do to stay warm. I put labels on my design to show different types of heat transfer. I choose to use color pencils because I thought they were the easiest to draw with, and I enjoy using them. I hope people would understand the different ways to stay warm during a blizzard when looking at my art. I choose that question because I like playing in the snow a lot, but it is also important to know how to stay warm in case of an emergency.”

Middle School

JenaRose’s Artist Statement: “I drew my poster about hurricanes. Hurricanes are the harshest storms ever. Personally I think that is really cool. I learned so much from this opportunity. Also I have always loved art, drawing, sketching and more. This was so much fun.”

Ruby’s Artist Statement: “My piece of artwork is based on the question, “How do severe storms form?” The way I went about creating my piece was to think about how the water color layers would give some nice detail and texture. I think it gave the cloud and sun faces a more interesting look. The designs are a lot more toned down than my first draft which I think looks a lot better and easier on the eyes. On the left I explain that tornadoes form when cold air and hot air get mixed together while on the right I explain how tornadoes more commonly form during the spring and are less common in winter. This art competition did let me experiment with new art materials like water color and new alcohol markers. I've never layered watercolor like this before, but I really enjoy how it looks and learned a lot from it. The alcohol markers let me blend out the tornado a lot nicer. Something that made this question stick out to me is that there are many different types of severe storms so you could make so many different pieces of art out of the same exact question that were completely different but still answered it perfectly which I think is super cool. Hopefully this will help show what happens to our earth when people and places go through a severe storm and knowing how and when will help them recover from the damage that occurs from the storm.”

High School

Anna’s Artist Statement: “I tried to use as many things from my research to answer the question in my art. I also addressed it by discussing how you should prepare an what tools you need to stay safe and survive a flood. My idea was to flood yourself with knowledge before the River floods you, so the point of the drawing is there are two kids who are trying to escape an looking at in evacuation map. The map shows where the safe zone is, and they themselves are thinking of how to prepare. The rivers represent their thought process. In particular their thinking of what they must stock up on for the flood, for example, rain gear, first aid kits, flashlights, etc. These are crucial supplies for facing off, and that these children realizing. I wanted water to have a large part of my artwork, since it is obviously such an important part of the topic. I also wanted words on the poster, so that even if the viewer didn't understand the meaning of the artwork you could still realize the point from the writing. Yes, I don't usually use markers, but the art competition inspired me to try working with them, even if I didn't use them in my end product. I also worked more with shading. I use colored pencils, and their problem is that if you press too hard they become streaky, so I tried using shading to avoid that outcome. I hope that people will better understand how to prepare for flooding, so that if they ever find themselves in a situation like this, they will know how to face it. I learned to have a plan for the future. Though in modern society you might not realize you were in immediate danger, you could be soon enough. Furthermore, today with all of our complex technology it feels like we are untouchable, but we are still able to be touched by the monster we've created: global warming. I was inspired mainly by my research period many of the things I read really emphasized the importance of being prepared. Therefore I focused my artwork around the crucial preparations that you should make before being caught in a flood.”

Sarah’s Artist Statement: “By looking at this piece of art, I hope that people will see that it's not just the storms forming by themselves, but we are actually making them worse with the gas emitted into the atmosphere from our cars. I created this artwork to show how we are hurting the atmosphere. This art competition is one way that I can try and make a change to the situation in our world because as a 9th grader, I can't change the world, but I can change small parts of it by doing what I can. This competition gives young artists a chance to change something. I was inspired by Looking at weather Maps in thinking about how they looked like they were being stirred up by an outside force. It made me think about how we are contributing to the situation with global warming influencing severe storms. I'm so grateful for having the chance to be a part of the change.”

Worcester

Runner-Ups

Elementary School

Kona’s Artist Statement: “I did my poster on extreme ice storms. I learned about how storms. I learned there are many ways to be safe.”

Elijaah’s Artist Statement: “The characteristics of a storm are they have boundaries and parts. Storms also have sub-systems. Sudden changes in energy create a drop in temperature and pressure. This can cause extreme weather like floods, extreme cold, extreme heat, and thunderstorms. Facts: What you need for extreme flooding: Make a plan where to meet in emergencies. Make a kit including a flashlight, batteries, cash, food and water. Boat and life-jacket. It was fun to do the art project. Here are some of the ways it was enjoyable: The coloring. How much I learned about extreme flooding. Mixing colors. Making textures. How much art can teach kids about science. When we did the accordion book we found out it is like an accordion. It was very helpful, and we discovered writing is easier than drawing.”

Yeremiah’s Artist Statement: “Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but only changed into another form. Cold air from Canada comes down and warm air from the Gulf of Mexico goes up. Then the cold and warm air bump into each other and turn the air temperature colder. When it is starting to rain the cold air makes the rain freeze then turning the rain to snow. A blizzard occurs when the snow goes on for two to three days. The blizzards can have winds that move up to 35 mph and 56 km/h. I liked doing the art project. I like drawing but it is difficult . It was fun. The part that it was difficult was the writing. There was a lot of it. It was stressful trying to figure out the layout of the poster and where each fact would go. This experience allowed me to gain more knowledge and confidence about weather.”

Middle School

Miroslav’s Artist Statement: “When I researched how people prepare for floods, I learned some precautions that can be taken to stop floods from doing lasting damage. I hope that when people look at my poster, they can learn the same things that I did when making it. My poster shows some ways people can protect their house, their belongings, and most importantly themselves. The first drawing from the left shows that people who live in high-flood-risk areas can elevate their houses to protect them from floods. The second shows that if you live in a high-flood-risk area, you should prepare a first-aid kit in case of emergency. The third drawing shows if you are in an area about to be hit by a flood, you should unplug all electronics before the flood comes. And the fourth and final drawing tells people that if you are about to be hit by a flood, you should move all valuables, such as furniture, to a higher elevation. I hope that when people look at this poster, it will encourage them to take necessary precautions to make their communities safe.”

High School

Jack’s Artist Statement: “The question I was addressing in my art piece was “What can you and your family do to keep cool in a heat wave or keep warm in a blizzard?”. I addressed the problem by creating the vision in my head which was just adjust your layers. It's incredibly easy and it helps reduce the amount of electricity and oils used in elements that would be used otherwise. I created my artwork as an almost yin-yang representation of the cold and heat to give a better understanding to the viewer that it's as simple as putting on or taking off clothes to be comfortable. What inspired me was my step mom who is very good at conserving energy and resources along those lines so it just came to my head from those situations. I learned about how much resources are used in order to heat or cool houses. The competition made me use images of various clothing to get an accurate drawing of them which I would not normally do.

Brittany’s Artist Statement: “My favorite materials to use are pencils and colored pencils because, throughout my life, these are the tools I have used the most. I used these tools to create my art along with markers. I love creating art because it’s a way for me to express my creativity and a way to make my imagination come to life on paper or on any other platform. I addressed the challenge question, “How can your community prepare for extreme flooding?”, by researching ways to keep yourself safe before, during, and after floods. In my work, I am sending a message of what to do in case of a flood and how to address the aftermath. I created my artwork the way I did because I wanted to have the steps simplified enough to send a clear message to both adults and children. After thinking over the different choices for the artwork, I was inspired to depict flooding because I want to give everyone knowledge about floods in case of emergencies. I learned that the area you live in will let you know if you should leave when a flood is coming. I also learned that after floods, snakes or alligators might get washed up in your neighborhood, depending on where you live. I was inspired to depict flooding because I did not have much knowledge about this topic and felt compelled to further understand what to do during and after a flood. I hope my poster will help people learn how to keep themselves safe during floors and pass on their knowledge to others.”

Makena’s Artist Statement: “I created this piece to show how people and wildlife are affected by extreme weather. I had drawn fallen trees, people living in igloos, and someone ice fishing. I chose to take a different approach to show people who live in a cold snowy environment and how they overcome the weather to live. The fallen trees represent all the animals and wildlife that have to find new homes. Ice fishing represents a new way to find food in the dead of winter. To create this piece, I used watercolor and some colored pencils to represent the cold, wintery feeling. I used some warmer colors like reds, and yellows closer to the edge of the painting to show a sunset theme, and I had it turn darker farther out, using purples and dark blues. I hope people learn that there isn't just one form of extreme weather; we face things like hurricanes, volcanoes, tornadoes, and other extreme forms of weather like the deadly, cold, winter. Learning how to combine art and science to show how other people are living their lives, and trying to make the best of the situation they're in, and find ways to make it better. While working on this, we had a few days where it wouldn't stop snowing, and I tried to make an igloo. The igloo I made with my friends inspired me to make something that others could relate to, even if they were in other parts of the world. People who live in these awful conditions are the real heroes because they have to adapt all the time. The snow, and thinking about different types of people encouraged me to draw something different from everyone else.”

Paolo’s Artist Statement: “My inspiration for this particular project came from an experience that I've had in the past. I remember waking up to go to the bathroom and as I took a step off the bed to the floor my leg got absorbed by some liquid. I honestly thought that I had peed on the bed because I wasn’t fully awakened yet, but little did I know the whole house was flooded with water as I turned on the lights due to a severe storm that night. Another reason for this was because we live near a water stream which the storm caused to elevate its water volume more than usual. My approach to starting this project was to first do some research to understand how thunderstorms are formed. It came out to be that as the sun heat hits the ground surface when warm, moist air rises into the cold air causing moisture. Then these opposing forces create winds which later results in the formations of storm clouds. I also took the liberty to do some research on the two of the challenge questions to see if I could incorporate both questions into one project to create an even more significant message. Most communities with extreme repetitive flooding are usually near the ocean which makes a lot of sense because the sun could heat the ocean creating all this vapor rising in the cold atmosphere. Extreme thunderstorms cannot be prevented because it is too powerful a force of nature. Extreme flooding caused by severe storms can be prevented and in my work, I present a solution to this problem. Installing Hydraulic turbines in inequitable places would not only help as a source of energy but it would also help reduce the temperature at which the sun heats the water because it will be moving constantly at a fast-paced preventing a considerable amount of moisture from rising into the atmosphere. Water usually stays up and causes floods because it has no way to go when on the rise. To prevent this, creating pathways such as huge pipelines underground for the water to flow back to the ocean, sea, or any large source of water would be a great solution. My message with this drawing is to help people understand that there are several ways we can solve problems natural catastrophe presents to us. There are many ways to prevent many natural catastrophes, but there are some that just can't be helped and we can only find ways to be prepared for them because it is not our will but what comes with nature.”