Bottle-washing Avondale mom helps turn trash into art

Posted on February 5, 2016 By Editor Junior Residents

Trish Haskell, Cathleen Murphy and Laura Watts with bags of plastic bottles they helped clean for an environmental sculpture at Bolles School.

Cathleen Murphy, whose son, Tom, is a sophomore, and daughter, Catie, a freshman at The Bolles School, took part in the preparation of a massive environmental sculpture at the San Jose campus last month by washing bottles.

Bolles Hall draped with plastic bottles representing a week’s worth of recycling at the school.

“As a parent, I am very proud of Bolles commitment to the environment and this bottle installation project is a wonderful example of how students can thoughtfully address an issue, start a conversation and effect change,” said Murphy, Green Team Chair on the Bolles Parents Association Executive Council.

The large installation on Bolles Hall was a combined lesson between a sculpture class and an Honors Environmental Science class, with assistance from the Parent Association Environmental Committee and the Student Environmental Club.

The sculpture is a visual reminder of plastic waste, and depicts the number of plastic bottles generated each week on the campus. Students worked for several months prior to the installation, stringing more than 2,600 bottles set for recycling.

“The project was quite an undertaking and I think everyone involved should be very pleased with the outcome and very proud of the project,” Murphy said. “It has created quite a buzz on campus and sparked some important conversations about plastic waste. Simple things like carrying a reusable water bottle and using the water bottle filling stations on campus can have a big impact on the amount of plastic waste generated.”

Visual art instructor Jim Smith, a renowned local steampunk assemblage artist whose work has been shown internationally, helped direct the students’ vision for the Bolles Hall piece.