2023-2024

Massachusetts

Winners

Elementary School

Daniel’s Artist Statement: “In my artwork, I convince people to make little improvements that even a kid can do. And together we can bring a big positive change. Like, instead of riding in a car to school, you can ride a bike. That way, we won't make so much carbon dioxide in the air.
And guess what? it's not only our planet that is going to be saved: WE ARE TOO!
I show we can have less extreme weather like storms, floods, and tornados, if we all take small steps. I created this artwork so it draws people's attention. Bright and green colors on one side and black and dark colors on the other create the contrast. Capital letters shout the message out.
And I enlarged the main object - the bike and the boy. Because it's the symbol of the CHANGE.
While doing this project I have learned many things. I have read and watched a lot about the extreme weather and its causes. I used a challenging format of a billboard, and have learned about advertising and graphic design. I’ve learned that this project can be a real job that adults do. And that amazed me. I hope that people will learn that it’s not some big company, or the president, or the government that stops climate change. BUT IT IS A TASK FOR EVERY SINGLE PERSON, TOO. This project inspired me to make little changes every day. And I hope it inspired you, too!”

Niamh’s Artist Statement: “In this poster, I want people to know how to stay safe during a flood. I think people should know they need food, water, and other things like first aid kits and things to do. The girl in the poster is listening to the news and heard that there’s a flood coming, so she’s able to get ready and stay safe.”

Middle School

Navya’s Artist Statement: “In my artwork, I addressed the question how sunlight fuels extreme weather. I always thought that extreme weather was just the way the world works, but I soon found out extreme weather is man-made. As I researched, I found out that one of the greenhouse gasses is carbon dioxide. We release 6,340.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year in the US alone. My drawing vividly portrays the formation of high-pressure heat domes, symbolizing the greenhouse effect and the Earth's warming. Our green and blue planet is turning into a hot and humid red one, unless the world rapidly stops burning fossil fuels. These heat domes are going to spread globally, which is already happening, leading to more frequent and intense heat waves. So what even are heat waves? They occur when greenhouse gasses warm earth which creates high pressure heat domes which warms up the surface by compression. What inspired me to do this was my Field hockey game. During a game on a scorching day against our rivals, the oppressive heat and humidity took a toll. Numerous players were close to passing out or experiencing vision issues. Our disappointment deepened as the challenging weather led to our defeat and possibility to enjoy the game. This encounter fueled my curiosity to research about these man-made heat waves, highlighting the immediate impact on sports and the shared experiences of athletes in challenging conditions. Each individual's contribution is a step for the well-being of our planet and future generations to come.”

Zoya’s Artist Statement: “Hello. My name is Zoya. Currently, I’m in sixth grade in Chelmsford. The challenge question I chose to address this year is ‘Sunlight is the largest source of energy on the surface of the Earth. How does sunlight fuel extreme weather?’ Through my artwork, I tried to show how the sun’s solar energy can cause thunderstorms through convection and conduction, and wanted to express the way this happens in a step-by-step visual that provides information both through pictures and words. Creating my submission in this manner provides an easy to read and understandable definition of one of the ways the sun causes extreme weather. This year, I was inspired to make this art by that sunny moment you always see before the storm, and my thoughts about if the sun had something to do with it. I learned new things in this competition about how sunlight fuels storms, and I hope everyone reading did too. Thank you.”

High School

Kaylin’s Artist Statement: “When I first approached my question I began to research and explore other people's ideas and my own thoughts aswell. I looked up what people can do to help out the environment and what impacts we can make to help better understand the world around us. In my artwork, I am trying to say that even so much of just planting a few seeds can evolve into something big (like the tree). I expressed it the way I did by writing the message as well as showing it out to demonstrate the point through different ways. I really liked the idea of symbolizing something growing over time that once came from something so small that a human created. The competition did actually convince me to approach it in different ways because I had to understand different colors and what needs to pop out more than the rest since it's combining text with drawing images. I hope for people to look at the bigger things in life and realize that they started off small, just like how most famous people start off as beginners too. I learned more about the environment itself and ways that everyone can contribute to helping out. What inspired me on this was other peoples websites that were communicating to help out the environment and trying to get other people involved. What also inspired me was just looking at really pretty images of scenery and places that exist in the world which helped me feel motivated to take on the question of how we as a society can help make the world a cleaner place.”

Vivian’s Artist Statement: “In my work, two people dash towards a shelter carved out of canned soup; one clutching an umbrella made out of non-perishable foods, the other carrying three gallons of water. The food-formed umbrella shields the first individual from the rain, representing the necessity of stocking up on non-perishable foods for extreme weather emergencies. Similarly, the tower of water jugs forms a protective wall against the rain for the second figure, symbolizing the need to maintain at least a three-day water supply for such crises. The two figures bear happy expressions as they know they have collected enough food and water to outlast the storm. The canned soup shelter, their metaphorical ‘home’, serves as another reminder of the importance of stockpiling provisions in order to protect against starvation and dehydration in the face of extreme weather conditions. My work is inspired by the effects of Hurricane Sandy on my family a few years ago, as when the power was cut off during an outage, we had no way of accessing water after the excess supply ran out. By emphasizing the importance of storing non-perishable foods and conserving water, I hope to show the viewers of this piece that these simple steps could be life-saving in situations where extreme weather cuts off electricity and confines people to their homes.”

Massachusetts

Runners-Up

Elementary School

Aliya’s Artist Statement: “I addressed the question, “Sunlight is the largest source of energy on the surface of the Earth. How does sunlight fuel extreme weather?” In my artwork. On one side, I drew a picture of the sun heating up the ground. On the other side, I drew the ground heating up the air around it and the warm air rising and then, making big storm clouds grow taller and taller which makes it so they have strong upward and downward winds. Also, the warm air fuels storms like tornadoes by giving them warm air to mix with the cold air. The sun can fuel storms like thunderstorms, hurricanes, or even floods. I made it so that one side looked bright and sunny and on the other side, dark and gloomy to make it look more fun and interesting and appealing so people will want to look at my art. I was inspired by street art and wanted to also use lines and shapes in my art to tell stories. The competition encouraged me to use a different way of art than I usually do. When I am drawing, I would usually write a ton and not express my thoughts and feelings through art, but this competition inspired me to express my words and thoughts through art. I learned a ton from this competition from partly my research that the sun can also have a bad cause and from my artwork that you can express words with art.”

Aliya’s Artist Statement: “I addressed the question, “What simple thing could we do now to better prepare for extreme weather in the future?” in my artwork by listing 3 easy ways you can better prepare for extreme weather such as tornadoes, earthquakes, and floods. My artwork shows what you could do in words and below that, a picture of how it looks. I was inspired by ads and signs along the street and wanted to use the same technique of highlighting the most important topics and making my text fun and appealing so people would want to look at my art. It also really makes my art “Pop.” I really wanted people to learn from my artwork about ways that you can stay prepared for any kind of extreme weather without having to do anything hard or stressful because I wanted to show that it is possible to not have to experience being unprepared for any kind of weather ahead of time. The competition encouraged me to use my art materials in a different way because I usually use markers just for coloring, and black markers for outlining, but the competition encouraged me to use color markers also to outline words to give it a fun, appealing vibe that will grab people’s attention.”

Middle School

Sanvi’s Artist Statement: “In my artwork, I'm trying to display multiple drawn figures that hopefully answer the question of how sunlight fuel extreme weather. These multiple steps showcase how sunlight warms earth, and how it gets trapped in the atmosphere, and how tornadoes form after this event. I hope that people will learn how essential sunlight is to not just tornadoes, but all types of extreme weather, since many people don't realize that sunlight is indeed connected to the creation of extreme weather. I learned and understood a lot about the greenhouse effect and global warming as well as information about infrared light and UV light, and how earth gets warm in the first place. I also learned how to display this question in the proper way. I was inspired to focus specifically on tornadoes because I thought that it would be the easiest type of extreme weather to help me answer my question. I also think that tornadoes are a very interesting subject, therefore I decided to focus on them. Another reason I chose tornadoes is because, connecting to what I hope people will learn from my artwork, most people don't realize that tornadoes are connected to sunlight.”

Shrika’s Artist Statement: “The reason extreme weather is getting stronger and more frequent is also behind the question. “How does sunlight fuel extreme weather?” Sunlight from the sun (also known as radiation) beams down onto Earth, some going into the atmosphere and the others getting bounced back into space. The radiation that successfully gets through the atmosphere gets soaked up by land, water and plants. Some get reflected and escape through the atmosphere. But, unfortunately for us, all the greenhouse gasses that we release into the atmosphere traps some sunlight, heating up the Earth. This is also called the greenhouse effect. A little bit of greenhouse gasses are good for us, but the amount that we are releasing is heating up the Earth way too much. All this heat also warms the oceans causing better conditions for extreme weather such as hurricanes to form. Hurricanes form over warm waters that create a better environment for it to thrive and intensify. My artwork shows how sunlight fuels extreme weather through the greenhouse effect. For example, the sunlight also warms the ocean, creating better conditions for hurricanes to develop. I hope that people will realize why all these hurricanes and other extreme weather are forming more often and start to take even more action against fossil fuels and greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere and around us.”

Suraaj’s Artist Statement: “Did you know that even though the Sun is 93 million miles away, our planet, Earth, continues to warm on average each year, causing climate change to occur? I hope to educate people on how the sun’s energy and human activity play a major role in fueling extreme weather events like heat waves. While researching, I discovered that a heat wave is declared when it is 90 degrees or higher for 3 or more days. These extremely hot temperatures are occurring because of an increase in greenhouse gases such as water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane which trap heat and warm the atmosphere. The sun’s energy increases evaporation making water vapor the most abundant greenhouse gas. During extreme heat waves, people use more air conditioning which produces more CO2. Emissions from factories, pollution from cars, and methane from farming are other causes of greenhouse gases. Extreme heat waves are also caused by increased overall water and air temperature due to global warming, which is the long-term warming of Earth’s overall temperature. In places like Austin and Houston, extreme heat waves have lasted for nearly a month. Last year in July, Death Valley hit 130 degrees! This temperature is the record for the hottest heat wave ever, but it could be broken very soon. Through my art work, I want to demonstrate the causes and impacts of extreme and dangerous heat waves. If we do not collectively address the causes, heat waves will continue to worsen, increase in frequency and harm our planet.”

High School

Esther’s Artist Statement: “I used the imaginative journey motivated by the outstanding construction of white ants, also known as termites, and the significant implications for tackling the growing issue of elevated carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and their association with extreme weather patterns. The astounding realization that termite mounds function as carbon neutral emitters. In contrast with standard human constructions that increase carbon emissions, termite mounds are prime examples of environmentally friendly building design. The competition helped me reconsider the issue of extreme weather and how we can utilize animal’s habitat to help the planet. I hope people can use this example of environmentally friendly building design to build many factories and houses in the future. I learned that my small moves can motivate billions of people in the world to start changing the world for our future generations. When I was 6 years old, watching ants making their houses inspired me to create this project. Both eco friendly and space consuming which is the best condition for our planet we live in today.”

Hanna’s Artist Statement: “For my art piece, I addressed the problem of gas use.
In a lot of homes people use things that produce CO2. Your car, stove, heater, and fireplace are all examples of gas being used and CO2 being released. I’m trying to show in my artwork that switching to Net Zero can be helpful in the environment for the plants, animals, and even you, which is why I made the Net Zero side appear more lively and colorful. Net Zero houses use insulation, solar panels, and infrared heating to reuse its energy instead of releasing more CO2 outside. This art competition made me work on cars and because I don’t draw cars, it was really difficult at first. I hope people will try their best and be encouraged to cut down on this gas use and get a little closer to Net Zero, even if it’s a small step. On the gas side, I made it look scary to be in. That's because if more CO2 from the gas keeps getting released it can really harm the ozone. The ozone has already broken before, and though scientists have been able to manage it, it could only open back up again with how much CO2 is being released. This is causing extreme weather, and harming plants and animals in the process. Sometimes it gets so bad that you struggle to breathe. Take the Canada forest fires for example, the CO2 being released from the fire traveled down to New York and made the New Yorkers start wearing masks, and I know that was naturally caused, but that can happen more often from the slow build up of CO2 that we make. To end, I think it was nice to learn about Net Zero and ways to achieve it in homes.”

Mariel’s Artist Statement: “The excessive amount of greenhouse gases that we’ve created are the real reason that the sun is fueling extreme weather. What the sun does has not changed? the sun’s radiation brings forth warmth to the earth, and greenhouse gases keep that heat in the atmosphere, keeping the heat from being released back into space. What has changed is the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. We are seeing an increase in global heat because we’re generating more greenhouse gases than necessary, which means there is much less room for excess heat to escape. I was inspired by the glass mosaic windows from my old church, because I remember that they told a story. They were beautiful, and while I no longer practice Catholicism, I have fond memories of staring at those windows during prayer. I am pretty unfamiliar with Photoshop, so the chance to work with it was new and fun. I hope that by looking at this piece, people will think more thoroughly about why it’s gotten so hot. I made the piece with a deeper meaning in mind, but I tried to make it easy to see my train of thought within the art. Obviously you cannot actually see greenhouse gases in the air, but I wanted to have it be visibly there to get the point across that the gases are keeping the heat trapped in the atmosphere. That’s also why the huge cloud is different shades of green. The sun’s rays are placed over the gas cloud for a similar reason. It represents the fact that the light can get in, but not back out. Getting to learn why the sun is not to blame was a great opportunity.”

Riley’s Artist Statement: “My submission was created in the way it was because I wanted it to be simple but can get the point across so people can absorb the information in a short amount of time, due to it potentially being on the side of a bus. I addressed the challenge regarding carbon by having two contrasting images in the same art piece, one portion being beautiful and filled with lush greenery while the other is dull and full of smoke. The nice looking part displays how animal homes are at net zero because they are carbon sinks while the dull part shows what happens when the carbon output is more than the environment can take in. While I was researching for my artwork, I learned about net zero, how animal homes have achieved it and how we can as well. Some very important points that I want the viewers to learn from this is that we should learn to emit less carbon, which we can do by mainly finding alternatives that don’t burn as many fossil fuels. I was very inspired by natural habitats like forests which have beautiful nature, flora, and fauna, some things we may not be seeing much of soon if we keep up with deforestation and extreme carbon emission.”

Sophia’s Artist Statement: “I addressed the challenge statement by researching different ways to prepare for extreme weather. What kept popping up was making sure your car has the things you need to survive extreme weather conditions. In my work, I am trying to tell people some simple things they can keep in their cars to keep them safe in all kinds of weather. I created my art the way I did to convey the information I was trying to get across as simply and quickly as possible. People don't spend a lot of time staring at the side of a bus, so you need your work to be eye-catching and convey its message quickly. This competition challenged my skills a lot! I made my piece with Adobe Illustrator, and while doing so, I had to learn and try new things within the program. I hope people will see my artwork and take the time to prepare themselves for anything that could happen. Preparation can counteract disaster. If my art can keep someone safe, then I’ve done my job right. While researching this project, I learned a lot about weather and how to stay prepared. I also found a lot of resources that could be helpful if I ever need to know what to do in an extreme weather event. My art teacher was a huge inspiration for this project. Her advice on it was amazingly helpful when making it, and I think my submission would be much worse without her insight.”

Victoria’s Artist Statement: “My piece addresses the third question, “What simple thing could you do now to better prepare for extreme weather in the future?” While researching ways to prepare for each extreme weather disaster, I noticed “ whether the disaster was a blizzard or a tornado “the three most common preparation recommendations were to stock up on supplies (food and water), be aware of weather warnings, and find shelter. I decided to split the composition of my piece into three parts to emphasize these three things and to show that when completing this preparedness checklist you can be ready for any extreme weather. This art competition helped me think of how to make my art more universal so the masses could understand the message without me having to explain it. I hope my piece encourages people to learn more about extreme weather readiness as this competition encouraged me to do. My inspiration for this piece was my experiences with hurricanes as a Florida resident. My home and my safety were ensured during the hurricanes because of my parents’ preparations and knowledge.”