Art Project Spotlights Earth Day

Wait a minute! Don't throw out that toilet paper roll.  And old magazines and bottle caps? Save them, too. 

"Free" art supplies are all around us, if we just take a moment to look at ordinary objects in a new light.  That's a concept Laura Toney, art teacher, said that she has taught her students.

"You don’t have to go out to buy art supplies," she said. "You can reuse objects that you find which saves not only materials and money, but the earth, too."

Nearly 80 children took that concept and created a work of art, currently on display in the school district offices building.  At least another 80 made individual art projects with recycled materials, she said.

The "green" theme plays on the greenery of a garden and the concept of recycling to be environmentally green, Toney said.

"Just thinking about 'green' and 'garden' and 'springtime,' I knew kids could do neat things with it and have a good time," she said.

The piece was constructed entirely out of recycled materials, including cardboard tubes, plastic bottle caps, magazines and cereal boxes. 

"Something as ordinary and mundane as a toilet paper roll...it's interesting to see the flowers come from such a humble beginning," she said.

Most of the boxes she brought in herself, and a fellow art teacher supplied the classes with bottle caps.

"It's not unusual for an art teacher to save everything," she said.

Toney is in her first year teaching art at Oconee Primary, but she is a veteran educator of over 20 years.  She started her career as an art instructor for the first 12  and then, after earning a master's degree in Early Childhood Education, she taught in second and third grade classrooms for 9 before returning to her artistic roots.  Her background helps her make connections between art and regular curriculum, Toney said.

"Using art as a medium to teach connects to what they’re learning (in the classroom).  It makes lessons authentic," she said.

At first the class that made the earth collage had a hard time visualizing the final product because it was constructed in 5-6 pieces, Toney said.  However, once each part fit together like a puzzle, the kids were pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

The project illustrated how individually we all play a small part in a bigger picture, she said.