By Eco Ambassador Anna Arriaga
On Wednesday, March 22nd, a semester’s worth of work and planning culminated in successfully hosting Library Love, an upcycled art competition in the CoLab space of the Iwasaki Library! For a few hours, students, faculty, and staff members came together to create and discuss sustainability on campus through crafting.
With Eco Ambassadors, judges, and the Associate Director of Sustainability there to help out, there were 8 contestants who entered the competition, some choosing to work in teams. The two-hour event kicked off with mandarin oranges and vegan donuts from Union Square Donuts, and all of the contestants quickly began crafting their respective masterpieces. Provided materials available to contestants included fabric scraps from the Emerson Costume Shop, books and magazines from the Library, along with miscellaneous supplies provided by the Sustainability team.
Each entrant set out with their own unique idea from the very beginning of the two-hour competition. Final crafts would be judged by the three judges on the criteria of sustainability, innovation, and creativity. Judges Michael Tucker, Homa Sarabi, and Richelle Devereaux Murray observed the creative processes of the crafters patiently as they worked until the final second.
Judges awarded prizes to the top three crafts based on the given criteria. Pictured below is the winning craft and photos of all participating contestants.
The winning work of art was created by Business of Creative Enterprises student Stefani Davila, titled “No Estas Solo”, which means “You’re Not Alone” in English. She upcycled this library chair by adding fabric paneling to the back and bows on each back side of the chair. The project is interactive, including materials for each person who sits in the chair to make a friendship bracelet for the next person, or to write a nice message on the slips of paper attached to the arm of the chair. Finally, she spray painted the chair in cheery golden polka dots and a big heart on the back of it. She came up with the idea surrounding mental health awareness by prompting people who sit in the chair to spread kindness to others, even if it’s a stranger.
Our awesome contestants!
