Lisa Meredith and Lynn Barber
Twice each year, the UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County sponsors a Recycled Yard Art Contest, one at the Hillsborough County Fair and one at the Florida State Fair. The purpose of the Recycled Yard Art Contest is to increase environmental awareness and encourage reusing/recycling materials into yard art. The competition involved two and three-dimensional art created from items already used for their original purpose.
During the eight days of the 2018 Hillsborough County Fair, attendees voted for the People’s Choice award on one of several entries submitted. The votes have been tallied, all 1,673 of them, and the People’s Choice Winner is Jim Dreby, for his Minion in Airplane, which was created using an air tank, freeon tank, car parts, wheels from a pressure washer and scrap metal.
Ruth Leedom’s Hot Frog Contest 2 Night (frog band on a rope) won the Judge’s Choice Award for Adult submissions. She created her whimsical entry with a World War II Navy rope, saucer, aluminum cans, rocks, corks, buttons, plastic silverware and moss.
Randall Middle School Students (Art Teacher Ragen Carpenter), won the Judge’s Choice Award for their Middle School entry, Walking the Dog, using a female dressmaker form, bottle caps, a bicycle tire and old flooring.
Alina Grillo’s plastic bottle tree won the Judge’s Choice Award for High School submissions. She created this tree with plastic water bottles and bottle caps.
Unfortunately, there was no grade school entry this year, but the State Fair is coming soon.
All of the contest winning entries will be on display at the UF/IFAS Extension Service, 5339 CR 579 in Seffner, until November 30. Please stop by to view these creations, stroll through the Bette S. Walker Discovery Garden and see what it has to offer.
Put on your creativity hat now and consider submitting an entry to the Florida State Fair contest. Contact Lisa Meredith for more information about the upcoming State Fair contest at: meredithL@hillsboroughcounty.org or 744-5519 x54146. Thanks for Reducing, Reusing, Recycling and Repeating.
