Wrap Up: Environmental Citizen

Currently there is an art exhibit in the hallway of 1B2B in the Student Activities Center. This is a finished prototype that will eventually be put up in Maine Audubon down in Falmouth, Maine. Students were very surprised to see this exhibit coming together; I think once they started making the art for it and we all started to put it together the class became one cohesive whole. They began to talk and work with one another and collaborate on what they think should or should not be done and by the last class on Thursday the 28th of April, we had a 99% finished exhibit standing.

Moving from the left to the right there are short student bios on their artworks, a sign that says "Welcome to Maine the Way Life Should Be" and then there is an introductory piece. This introductory piece has a drawn state of Maine map with some phrases from students on what Maine means to them. For example, one student said that "Maine is my rainbow" while another said "Maine is my sanctuary". Next is the first section of the exhibit; this includes art done by the students that portray how they feel about Maine and how they see it. Then there is a transition piece with students' human impact on the land observations from when they were watching their one acre of land earlier in the semester. And lastly is the second section of the exhibit with a sign that says "Welcome to Maine the Way Life Will Be". This second section has three panels with three different regulations and reforms from LePage's Phase 1 Acts and Reforms. Each regulation has several different pieces of artwork to show how the students think life in Maine will be affected by the reforms. For example, one art piece shown in the pesticides and toxins regulations is this:
It shows how the pesticides and toxins when leaked into the water could affect local fish populations if it doesn't kill them.

A lot of different mediums were used in the making, including different types of paints, charcoal and ink drawings, collages, sculpture and photography. Even live plants were integrated into the display. We are hoping that this exhibit will provoke people to contact their local senator or take action against LePage's reforms. At the end of the exhibit is a list of contact information for all the VIPs in the different towns throughout Maine.