Artist Statement: 

For this project, I decided to focus on pollution in the oceans to demonstrate the harmful human impact on the environment and the organisms living in the oceans. I always make shell art when I go to my grandmother's house, so over Thanksgiving break, as I was working on a project with my little cousin, I pondered what a life without shells would be like for her, and was immediately inspired to tie my final piece into my sustained investigation. 

For this project, I began with a styrofome tower, gluing a variety of shells my grandmother collected in Florida on top. Afterward, I cut up pieces of trash from around my house, particularly some of the most harmful types of trash like plastics and straws, and began gluing them to one side of the tower. I designed it so that the trash was not visible from one side until you rotated it. I also used plastic letter beads to add text to my art. 

I went through a few different processes while creating my artwork. I have never used shells for a school project before, and although I am familiar with shell art, it was fun to explore with new materials other than watercolor or guache that I usually use in my artwork.