The kids at the Colorado State University-Pueblo Child Care Center decided to create art with recycled materials.

Some of the kids, along with local artist Bonnie Waugh, made a large giraffe sculpture made out of tomato cages, ribbon, buckets, mess bags, pie plates and old paint brushes.

Waugh, who has a son at the Child Care Center, is a local artist and curator of the exhibit at the Colorado State Fair and a CSU-Pueblo alum.

Since kids can’t express themselves through words, it’s a perfect project for them to express their creativity and learn while their doing it. It also teaches them the importance of recycling, Waugh said.

Waugh will be coming in monthly to work with the kids on projects that explore different things in art. They will initially stick with learning about sculpture, but eventually explore drawing and print making, she said.

The kids are not just learning about art, but problem solving too, Waugh said.
Jesse Martin, one of the kids who helped with the giraffe, said his favorite part was tying the sculpture to a pole so that it would stay upright.

“They’re not just learning about art. They’re learning a learning process,” Waugh said. One of the most important things the project taught the kids was how to work together, Waugh said.

The kids have also been very interested in the construction of the new Residence Hall and are beginning a documentation of the progress, according to Louanna Razo, director of the center. The kids have drawn pictures of each stage of the new building and begun their own small-scale construction projects.

The kids are trying to decide what they can use to hold their small buildings together. Peanut butter was their first choice, but it was proven unsuccessful, Waugh said.