2022-2023

Worcester

Winners

Elementary School

Margaret’s Artist Statement: “I asked what countries had extreme temperatures. My Meme and I always work on this together, and this question had stumped me. I learned about different places that were experiencing hard times, especially from climate change. This inspired me to try to create something that would show people what was going on outside our country. I wanted to show how different temperatures affect kids around the world. I used pictures of thermometers and colors to show how hot or cold a country is. In the first panel, you will see that I drew a polar bear on a melting ice floe, and there is an Inuit on their igloo. In the second panel, I drew a boy in Phoenix, Arizona, under a shelter, trying to stay cool. In the third panel, there is a kid in Pakistan on their house roof asking for help because their house is flooded. In the fourth panel, there's a sad earth looking at every natural disaster. In the fifth panel in Indonesia, I am showing a mudslide and the town is sliding down the hill. In the sixth panel, a boy walked miles to get to water, but he is startled by a dry lakebed. In the seventh panel, a kangaroo and a koala are trying to escape from a bushfire. I hope you will understand how different countries have different extreme temperatures from climate change and that extreme temperatures have different effects on different people.”

Nick’s Artist Statement: “In my poster I am trying to say that people should know their flood risk and if they live in a flood zone. I used circles and a cartoon-style of drawing to help get my message across.”

Middle School

Rayne’s Artist Statement: “I addressed the challenge question by sharing ways people can adapt after sea level rise, like boots, boats, and house elevation. In my work I'm trying to say that even through change and challenges we can adapt and still live life to the fullest. I hope people will learn to persevere through climate change. I learned how sea level rise could affect my hometown.”

Charlotte’s Artist Statement: “Why I made the artwork: The question was to draw someone getting ready for a flood. A flood can pop up at any given time and that is why you need to get supplies for it. This is the reason why I made this poster. How I made the poster: It was fairly simple, I used a ruler, pencil, markers and coloured pencils. I made a border for the poster and wrote a little saying along the lines of "be prepared or always be prepared" or something like that. I also drew a car using said ruler, coloured pencils, and a regular pencil. After I coloured it and Bam! that's how I did it and what I used for it!”

High School

Jada’s Artist Statement: “I decided to illustrate a futuristic bullet train capable of transporting people safely away from floods and built to withstand harsh waves. It is equipped with a strong glass tunnel protecting the train and stable arches supporting the track. I want to express the idea of creating more technologically advanced transportation that is less prone to damage from flooding and efficient in emergency evacuations. I created my artwork using digital software because it provides a variety of tools and techniques that I can use to enhance my art. Using Procreate to create this artwork helped me try new styles of illustration. Specifically, I was able to play with color and shapes freely as seen in the highlights, waves, and clouds within the illustration. I appreciate the art prompt I chose to address because it forced me to draw subjects that are outside of my comfort zone which will benefit me in the future. I hope people learn the importance of adapting to our environment in order to survive the changes of our world. My inspiration came from futuristic artworks from other artists and real-life technological innovations.”

Isabella’s Artist Statement: “In addressing the topic of how my experience with extreme weather may be different from kids my age around the world, I made my artwork emphasizing how the contrast in experiences can create unity. I live in Massachusetts, which has long, cold, and snowy winters. On one side of my artwork, I illustrated Boston during a snowstorm by using many cool blue tones. The snowy side of my drawing symbolizes the experiences I have had with extreme weather. In difference to my weather experience in Massachusetts, on the other side of my artwork, I have illustrated a warmer climate. I used the Lut desert in Iran, which is one of the hottest places on Earth, as inspiration. Iran has hot and dry summers and to display this, I drew the desert sand with warm colors. This side of the illustration includes a drawing of a girl, in Iran, who experiences extremely hot weather. A similarity between us is that we both have to protect ourselves from the weather, either by protecting ourselves from the cold or the hot sun. At the center of my artwork, the girl and I are holding the earth together, which also includes pins on our locations. I wanted the contrast in colors and weather to symbolize our different experiences with the weather, but still emphasize that we are on the same planet and share the responsibility of caring for it, together. I hope people will take away the central theme of unity in my artwork.”

Worcester

Runner-Ups

Elementary School

Luca’s Artist Statement: “Luca Shoaf Kozak she/her/hers, East Boston, Mario Umana Academy. Fifth grade. When I created my art piece addressing flooding prevention in Boston. I had the intention of creating a piece that would show how important marshes are in Boston, Massachusetts. Specifically the Belle Isle Marsh, the marsh in between Boston and Winthrop. I created the marsh to emphasize the fact that marshes absorb water to use it for nutrients, and if there is a small flood on a marsh, water would simply be absorbed. Next, I wanted to try and address a specific action that we could do to protect marshes. And that would be as simple as picking up trash that pollutes marshes and prevents them from working in a healthy system. Also, to protect any wildlife such as frogs, turtles, opossums, birds, and other important species. Also, I created my artwork in the way I did because I just wanted to complete a piece or a drawing of the marsh and its features to show what a marsh would usually look like. That was one of my intentions when I drew this piece. When I created the art drawing, I did learn how to use new materials. At first, I started off with a school pencil to draw the outline of the artwork, also for shading. Then I used colored pencils such as yellow and green when I created this drawing with those materials. I learned that being specific when choosing is a great way to make your art piece as I did not use many materials like paint or oil or pastels. After creating this art piece, I wanted to show people that marshes are important and that we rely on them during our precipitation changes and the water cycle. So I hope that people learn from my art piece that we should take care of the Belle Isle marshes, along with many more marshes, and in order to do that, we have to work together. Through my creation of this art piece, I had experienced several emotions to help with the things we go through in life. Also remember that when you create art, sometimes you don’t have a reason to.”

Jonathan’s Artist Statement: “Hi, my name is Jonathan Lopez. I live in East Boston, and I am in fifth-grade at the Mario Umana Academy.  How did I address the challenge question in my artwork? I was happy to know that I can share my talent with art. What am I trying to say with my art? I am trying to say that we have to take care of our planet, to take care of it, plant trees. Why did I do my art the way I did it? I wanted to show how pretty our planet is and how it is important to take care of it. On the concept of art, what made you happy? What made my happy so much that I was going to express how I feel. What did I learn? The importance to plant more trees and not to throw trash in the ocean. What inspired you? The concept of art, my ability to draw, and express what we have to do as humans that live on earth.”

Olivia’s Artist Statement: “By designing this poster, not only did I learn that harmful energy can be converted into good energy, but I also learned about water splitting and energy conversion. The process of water splitting, energy conversion, and Greek Mythology inspired me. Water splitting is a chemical reaction where water is broken down into oxygen (O2) and hydrogen (H2). Energy conversion is the process of changing one kind of energy to another. Take the human digestive system for an example; when you eat food, the chemical energy absorbed by the body from the food turns into mechanical energy. You use that energy to walk, run, and move. In Greek Mythology, there is a god named Zeus who controls the sky, rain, and the clouds. There are also four gods named Boreas, Zephyrus, Notus, and Eurus who control the north, west, south and east winds. By taking part in this art contest, I used art materials which I don’t normally use–such as sharpies–and I also used the art materials that I normally use in a new way.  I hope people will learn from my drawing that we can use energy conversion and other types of good energy instead of harmful energy that pollutes the planet.”

Etta’s Artist Statement: “Icebergs are melting.Sea levels are rising. Floods are happening more often.This is all because of climate change. The Hover Bus goes on land and water making transportation available in all types of weather. In cities like Boston climate change might make severe storms more common and later we might need to raise buildings and use Hover Buses to get around.”

Middle School

High School

Chesney’s Artist Statement: “My commission explains the struggles of floods due to global warming, floods destroy homes and families, causing detrimental stress to anyone involved. The quote, "Innovation saves lives" contributes to my cause by explaining how trying to make innovations for people's safety should be worked on. My artwork shows a train that can properly work during a flood, helping people evacuate the area.”

Will’s Artist Statement: “I chose to draw the Champion boat from the MBTA ferry that commutes from Hingham to Long Wharf, Boston, because I use this ferry all the time in the summer to get into Boston and My dad used the ferry for many many years to commute every day in and out of the city. I have found that the ferry is the most effective way to get from A to B while avoiding the terrifying rush hour traffic. I am trying to say that people should take the ferry more because if more people take the ferry into Boston, there would start to be less pollution from cars getting to and from Boston. The challenge encouraged me to work with new materials around me by giving me the option to use alcohol markers to give my drawing a rich and a pop to the color of everything.”

Albert’s Artist Statement: “I addressed the challenge question by depicting a snowplow clearing the way for a train where the rails are obstructed by the severe storm. The plow is equipped with a jet-powered snow melter, a mechanism used by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) on a rail in my state to clear the tracks during or after heavy snowfall. The equipment removes inclement obstructions on the rails by blasting hot air at high pressure. While other methods reportedly include heating systems built directly into the rail infrastructure or more conventional snowplows that simply shove/pulverize snow, I felt that the aforementioned snow melter (whose model is affectionately dubbed "Snowzilla" by the MBTA) was the most interesting and easily communicable solution to portray. Even so, I wished to acknowledge these other methods. The designs of the train and plow in the work are based on those local to my region, but they are rendered ambiguously (namely the plow equally represents jet-powered as much as bulldozer-esque) to reflect the vehicular methods other commuter rail services may use to deal with snowstorms. Working in graphic design, I was encouraged by this competition to experiment with different filter options in my design software in order to achieve the desired look of the snow and shadows in the work. I hope people's takeaway from this work will be the knowledge that with the right equipment and infrastructure, trains (and by extension public transport in general) can continue to operate even in the most challenging weather conditions.”

Ellie’s Artist Statement: “Extreme temperatures affect people throughout the world differently, with some people possessing the resources to withstand it, and others being left defenseless against the ruthless weather. Many people are in safe homes, surrounded by family, with fires lit, while others die cold and alone. By creating an artwork that contrasts the different extreme situations that can be caused by extreme temperatures, I hope to illustrate the importance of helping others stand against such weather by extending a hand of generosity and a heart of gratitude.”