Ever seen a scrap-metal robot? A cityscape made from old stamps? St. Albert students will reveal these and other upcycled wonders today at St. Albert Centre as part of a free art show.
The St. Albert Student Art Show opens this Feb. 15 in St. Albert Centre. This free annual event sees St. Albert students from Grades K-12 craft works of art and sell them to support local charities, and has been running for about 15 years.
This year’s show is called “uPcYcLe” and is based on the idea of upcycling or reusing waste, said show co-ordinator Colleen Hewitt. Student artists were asked to create pieces made with waste or repurposed materials that fit in a 12”x12” square.
“It creates a huge challenge,” Hewitt said, as you’re working with atypical materials, and it forces artists and audiences to rethink their attitude toward waste.
Hewitt said this year’s show features 56 pieces, each of which can be purchased with a $75 donation to Youth Empowerment and Support Services in Edmonton. Expect to see a mix of paintings and sculptures at the show, including a set of six little scrap metal robots cobbled together by Kindergarten students at Wild Rose Elementary.
Paul Kane Grade 10 student Helena Hadra crafted a Hong-Kong-esque nighttime cityscape for the show. The crowds on the street are painted, while the windows of the skyscrapers to either side are made from scavenged stamps of many colours.
“I was just having fun with colours and shapes,” Hadra said, when asked about the significance of the stamps.
“My hands were cramping from trying to cut pieces that small.”
For her piece, Grade 11 Paul Kane student Alcina Harapiak covered a board with cut-up dictionary pages, origami flowers, and a skeleton.
“I call it ‘Flowers of Death,’” she said, and it’s meant to illustrate the border between life and death — death is on one side of the surface, reaching for the flowers that poke out from the surface toward the living audience.
Harapiak said she used random dictionary entries for this piece, although in retrospect she wishes she had chosen death-specific ones. In a funny coincidence, the definition for the word “melon” ended up on the back of the skeleton’s skull.
Paul Kane Grade 10 student Ina Otero painted a reproduction of “Lake and Mountains” by Canadian artist Lawren Harris for the art show.
“I am an immigrant, so I’m very grateful for being in Canada,” she said, when asked why she chose this scene.
Otero said she used birch and pages from books about Canada as a canvas. The pages gave a more Canadian touch to the piece and unintentionally added many small gaps to the image, giving it a more handmade look.
Hadra said working with upcycled materials was pretty cool, and makes you more mindful of waste.
Upcycling is fun and helps the environment, said Harapiak, adding that she often reused jars at home.
“It’s a nice way to create art out of old things.”
The student art show opens at 5 p.m. Feb. 15 and runs until Feb. 26. Email Hewitt at [email protected] for details.
