Thank you to the teachers, parents and students who’ve made the 8th Annual Repurposed Doodad Sculpture Competition a success during difficult circumstances. This year we received 132 sculptures from 32 schools that involved 36 teachers and 310 students.
Thank you also to our community judges who we tasked to vote for the sculptures they felt best met the criteria of the competition. They submitted votes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd Places and Honorable Mentions in each grade category.
And thanks to the hundreds of people who submitted over 2,000 People’s Choice votes. The top 9 sculptures that received the most votes were awarded People’s Choice Awards regardless of grade level category.
Last but definitely not least, many thanks to Tampa International Airport and all our generous sponsors. Your commitment to the community helps young people to experience the importance of reusing unconventional materials while problem solving through the creative process.
Congratulations to all 🙂
Elementary Award Winners
Grades K – 2
School: Grady Elementary
Student: Olivia Rivas-Medeiros
Grade: 1
Artist’s Statement: I have created a moon boot because I want to be the first woman on the moon. I will get to the moon, bounce and look for Neil Armstrong’s footprints.
Art Teacher: Debonique Grigsby
School: Grady Elementary
Student: Gustavo Rivas-Medeiros
Grade: 1
Artist’s Statement: I love fishing and I want to travel to different places in the world to catch different fish. So far, I have been to Ballast Point, Brazil and Chaimette and caught nice fish.
Art Teacher: Debonique Grigsby
School: Grady Elementary
Student: Saheli Shah
Grade: 2
Artist’s Statement: My sandal is called Flip-Flop Florida. I initially wanted to do a High-Top Sneaker, but then my mother suggested a new idea. She recommended that the footwear should have a Florida theme, so I said, "Let's do a Flip Flop." Here is my creation, a Flip Flop Sandal. So now you understand why we called it "Flip-Flop Florida"?!!
Art Teacher: Debonique Grigsby
School: Grady Elementary
Student: Ethan Goldberg
Grade: Kindergarten
Artist’s Statement: I made the bridge from the book, "Iggy Peck Architecture". I got the idea from a shoe and used shoelaces to hold it up. Iggy Peck found cheating ways to reuse things and so did I.
Art Teacher: Debonique Grigsby
School: Homeschool
Student: Abigail Lewis
Grade: 2
Artist’s Statement: My shoes are taking me to Mexico because I am learning to speak Spanish. Mexico is famous for tacos, pyramids, sugarcane, and silver.
Teacher: Jamie Lewis
School: Homeschool
Student: Iris Ali
Grade: 2
Artist’s Statement: My shoes are taking me to Mount Everest. I think it is very fun and interesting to use materials that have already been used.
Teacher : Kerri Ali
School: Lomax Magnet Elementary
Students: Painting Panthers Art Club, Panthers with Promise Art Club and other K-5 students (approximately 50 students)
Grades: K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Artists’ Statement: As students thought about where these shoes can take them: the past, future and different locations around the world. they realized how much plastic was being used to wrap snack foods and the bags to carry them in. Students talked about ways they could decrease this by using reusable bags when shopping and buying large bags of snacks and splitting it up in reusable containers. Students discussed how these places they wanted to go would become cluttered with trash if over production of snack food keeps being made.
Art Teacher: Lashonda Wilburn
School: Old Hyde Park Art Center/Tampa Regional Artists
Students: Anderson O’Kelley, Elle Lynch, Evangeline Iarossi, Haydon Swanson, Ruby Nolan, Taylor Mulrooney
Grade: 2
Artists’ Statement: Our ballet slippers could take us dancing on famous stages all over the world.
Art Teacher: Marie Rice
School: Mort Elementary
Student: Carmelow Green
Grade: 2
Artist’s Statement: I am going to be a Hip-Hop rapper rapping about all the waste in the world that we could redesign. “Hey Hey there is too much waste waste. If we don't stop it, we will have a really bad sys sys system. A community going down. Going down. So, if we can get your attention for a little second ya'all, we can save the world from extinction, ya'all.”
Art Teacher: Lori Erskine-Dodds
School: Mort Elementary
Students: Josue Hernandez Gomez
Grade: 2
Art Teacher: Lori Erskine-Dodds
School: Grady Elementary
Student: Mackenzie Currea
Grade: 1
Artist’s Statement: My shoe is an airplane. I like airplanes because they can take us to fun places. I used SweeTarts wrappers because they are my favorite candy.
Art Teacher: Debonique Grigsby
School: CHOSEN homeschool group
Students: Maria-Gabriela Cabrera, Sophie Bernardin, Kaden Johnson, Skylar Bernardin, Mariana Cabrera, Everet Griest, Elijah Griest
Grades: K, 1, 3, 4, 5
Artists’ Statement: There are so many people all over the world that have to make their shoes out of materials they can find like plastic water bottles because they do not have shoes to protect their feet. Our project takes us around the world and across a bridge to connect us to those in need. "The love we choose is sharing shoes."
Art Teacher: Kimberly Johnson
School: E.A.R.T.H. homeschool group
Student: Nicole Laura Humphreys
Grade: Kindergarten
Artist’s Statement: “Adventure boots to my knees, Floating above the trees, What wonders I see, The EARTH is trash free.” Anyone can make a sculpture or art piece, using stuff that would otherwise become ugly litter or trash. Learning to reduce, reuse, and recycle can be fun, especially with friends!
Art Teacher: Nicole Humphreys
Elementary Award Winners
Grades 3 – 5
School: Gorrie Elementary
Students: Avril Carvajal Montecristo, Allison Cellitti, Avalon Hemstead, Kate Kronbach, Chloee Lau, Luke Levy, Liam Mobley, Adelaide Sansone, Rosario Terracciano
Grades: 3, 4, 5
Artists’ Statement: “Oh, the Places Inky Will Go” Inky, the octopus explorer of the sea, escaped from the aquarium and now he’s free! In the open ocean he will always be! He is now known as the Houdini! We hope you like our poem! Our group of nine artists started brainstorming ideas for the Doodad sculpture exhibit and came up with the idea of an octopus with eight shoes on his tentacles. We found and read the book, “Inky the Octopus”, by Erin Guendelsberger. The book is a real story about an octopus named Inky who escaped from an aquarium in New Zealand. Inky has been exploring the ocean ever since. We “caught” Inky to find out where his shoes took him. After the Doodad display we will release Inky by recycling the over 300 plastic bags stuffed inside of him. We would like everyone to recognize the fact that throwing away plastic like the bags and wrappers has terrible consequences to the environment. We researched the “Islands of Trash” found in different places throughout the world. The largest is in the Pacific Ocean and is bigger than Mexico now. The trash islands are so thick with floating plastics that you can walk on them. We learned so much making this sculpture! Go Inky Go!!
Art Teachers: Karen Barmore, Elaine Ramirez
School: Gorrie Elementary
Students: Nega Tsekanovskiy, Avril Carvajal-Montecristo, Avalon Hemstead, Chloee Lau, Luke Levy, Adelaide Sansone, Lola Brandon, Silvia Hellman, Chloe Jonas
Grade: 3, 4, 5
Artists’ Statement: After reading the book, "Albert Ross the Albatross: Blue Spaghetti" by Nicola Leigh and learning about the plight sea birds suffer due to plastics and garbage, we decided to create a sculpture of an albatross stuffed with plastic bags and snack wrappers as feathers. We were touched by reading the book and we wanted to spread the word to use less plastic and throw it away properly.
Art Teachers: Karen Barmore, Elaine Ramirez
School: Alafia Elementary
Students: Andrew Terrill, William Terrill
Grade: 5
Artists’ Statement: "One Small Step..." was created because Man once went into space and stepped foot on the moon. If we do not think about the Earth and do not do things like recycling and reusing objects, one day humans will have to leave our planet and look for a new home elsewhere in space.
Art Teacher: Justin Terrill
School: Claywell Elementary Gifted Program
Students: Mackenzie Bader, Victoria Cruz
Grade: 5
Artists’ Statement: SHOES: (Saving Habitats Of Endangered Species) We were inspired to create a sculpture utilizing plastic bags and snack wrappers to represent traveling shoes in different habitats which represent species in great danger of extinction. We can all help protect all endangered species by recycling and reusing.
Art Teacher: Lisa Lawson
School: Homeschool
Student: Emma Ledford
Grade: 3
Artist’s Statement: The little old lady who lived in the Doodad shows us where reusing could take us. All of the things I used I would’ve thrown away. There are ways to reuse things if we just try.
Teacher: Tonya Ledford
School: McKitrick Elementary
Student: Punya Soumil Desai
Grade: 4
Artist’s Statement: After this project, I learned that you can use snack wrappers and other materials to make things out of them so they don’t make nature and other places dirty which further helped me realize how to reuse materials and make the best out of waste. Also, I can take my shoes to France because they are soccer cleats and France won the 2018 FIFA World Cup. This way I can also see the Eiffel Tower.
Art Teacher: Molly Arnold
School: Mort Elementary
Student: Jessica Hernandez Gomez
Grade: 5
Artist’s Statement: Oh, I will be rocking aWEARness of Reusable Waste perhaps to Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and/or Taylor Swift to use in one of their music videos to help bring awareness of the amount of waste that is filling our landfills and harming life in our oceans and lakes.
Art Teacher: Lori Erskine-Dodds
Middle School Award Winners
School: Academy of The Holy Names
Students: Madeleine Berg, Chloe Boback, Addison Brown, Lauren Echeverry, Regan Hernandez, Emma Kaiser, Sophia Kelly, Reese MacDonald, Rory Martineau, Kamila Muraharisetti, Lin Riser, Bryn Valiente, Isabelle Williams, Michael Xavier
Grade: 8
Artists’ Statement: Our class was so excited for the Annual DooDad Competition! We were eager to brainstorm as a class together and were so excited to sculpt a combination of Tampa Landmarks and shoes! "Oh The Places You'll Go", in Tampa is limitless! As Tampa spreads it wings in leaps and bounds with cutting edge technology, state of the art businesses, and emerging start ups, Tampa consistently is reinventing itself and redesigning gorgeous spaces. You can go anywhere if you have the right pair of shoes on! With our walkable city, there is a million places your shoes can take you! Our display demonstrates and highlights our favorite places around Tampa Bay. We built our own plaster casts and used recycled candy wrappers and chip bags! Enjoy! Now, Go for a walk in The Top 10 Ranked Airport!
Art Teacher: Galina Abele
School: Crane Homeschool Academy
Student: Kaylee Smith
Grade: 7
Artist’s Statement: Last fall I realized my ambition is to open a Cat Café with my best friend. (You can see her at the register.) I also made sure to include some of my other favorite hobbies, such as creative writing, drawing and cake decorating. We don’t really realize just how many goods we use with plastic wrappers until you see them all stored inside a bag. We just open a Reese’s and throw away the wrapper. I hope in the future that people could cut back on the single-use plastic wrappers, or make them more recyclable.
Art Teacher: Jackie Smith
School: E.A.R.T.H. homeschool group
Student: John R.F. Humphreys
Grade: 8
Artist’s Statement: You’ll be helpful as helpful can be, Oh the beautiful beaches you’ll see! EARTH is being poisoned by all the plastics and garbage. We can collect, reduce, reuse, and recycle, much of the trash we throw out. Anyone, from young to old, should be part of this process. Picking up trash from the beach is a great place to start.
Teacher: Nicole Humphreys
School: Stewart Middle Magnet
Students: Devin Aultman, Brianna Comadore, Sirianat Maldonado Rosa
Grade: 7
Artists’ Statement: Our shoe represents a blue jet plane that can take us anywhere in the world. We learned about the importance of reusing and recycling plastic materials.
Art Teacher: Trey Goodwillie
School: Walker Middle Magnet School
Students: Jackson Winterberg, Noelle Strawser, Allison Bradberry, Richard Ramos, Addison Brandenburg, Lucas Cunningham
Grade: 6
Artists’ Statement: “Give a Sole, Save a Soul” explains that when we donate slightly used shoes to a less fortunate person we're saving their soul just a little bit more. Also, our group of students used the plastic bags and wrappers to make the world a better place, such as saving marine life. Also, wrappers and plastic bags can be reused for many different things, rather than ending up in a landfill or around a marine animal’s neck.
Art Teacher: Trista Johnson, Jennifer Strano
School: Winthrop Charter School
Students: Trevor Plowmen, Jayden Powell
Grade: 6
Artists’ Statement: Recycling and reusing is not just for us, but for the Earth. Our shoe can bring you to the beautiful sight of the mountains.
Art Teacher: Jill Maxwell
School: Winthrop Charter School
Student: Emma Snider
Grade: 8
Artist’s Statement: My sculpture was inspired by the Disney movie, "Up". The balloons on my sculpture are flying the person wearing these shoes, far, far away. Using plastic bags, snack wrappers, and old shoes made me realize how much waste humans create and throw away every day. I really enjoyed looking through the snack and candy wrappers to find the letters to spell out the quote on my sculpture!
Art Teacher: Jill Maxwell
School: Berkeley Preparatory School
Students: Sophia Nguyen, Kaitlyn Chan
Grade: 7
Artists’ Statement: A fun shoe about chewing bubble gum.
Art Teacher: Thaddeus Erdahl
School: Berkeley Preparatory School
Students: Heidi Kumpu, Sophia Wyant
Grade: 7
Artists’ Statement: Who doesn't love Cape Code kettle cooked potato chips? We realize that there was a lot of waste from the packaging of chips.
Art Teacher: Thaddeus Erdahl
School: Winthrop Charter School
Students: Emily Traub, Camilla Roman, Emily Acevedo
Grade: 8
Artists’ Statement: Using trash items to make art made us think about the state of the environment and the animals on our planet. We decided to show the places the planet will continue to go if we don't start making more of an effort to clean it up. We created a shoe in the form of a dead mamma bird who has been living off eating trash. Her eggs represent the new generation that can work together to fix the problems with pollution.
Art Teacher: Jill Maxwell
School: Ferrell Girls' Preparatory Academy Middle Magnet
Student: Madison Sofarelli
Grade: 8
Artist’s Statement: "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" represents The Wizard of Oz with all its characters being represented by accessories to the shoe. The ruby slipper represents Dorothy, the hay represents the Scarecrow, the tail represents the Cowardly Lion, and the heart watch represents the Tin Man. I used peanut M&M wrappers to make the yellow brick road. Through the creation of this sculpture I came to realize that anything can be used and repurposed to create a beautiful piece of artwork!
Art Teacher: Katie Sparks Jones
School: Liberty Middle School
Student: Mallory Marsland-Pettit
Grade: 8
Artist’s Statement: My sculpture is about a girl who has “walked” through the different stages of life and doesn’t know where her shoes will take her next. Through this project I began to see different items of “trash” differently. Things I once saw as garbage I now see as something to be reused instead of thoughtlessly discarded. I think I truly understand the saying, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”.
Art Teacher: Lesley Wheatley
High School Award Winners
H-27
School: Plant City High School
Student: Sydney Palm
Grade: 12
Artist’s Statement: I created a Croc out of yellow plastic bags and snack wrappers. I chose this shoe because I have a pair of yellow Crocs that are my favorite. Creating this sculpture was a challenge but I am so glad I stuck with it. I learned a lot about products people are dependent on that aren’t easily recycled. And I learned that it will take a lot of work and dedication to make change happen in the way we use plastics.
Art Teacher: Kiley Hingle
H-14
School: Jefferson High School
Student: Jade Lopez
Grade: 12
Artist’s Statement: The use of recycled materials for this sculpture was imperative. With our revolutionized society, recycling becomes more important for conserving and protecting the places we will go.
Art Teacher: Michelle Turcan
H-4
School: Berkeley Preparatory School
Students: Kendall Ker, Katrina Shonka
Grade: 10
Artists’ Statement: These boots are made for walking, but to what destination? We don't know. It's no secret that our future is bleak; however, that depends on you. Each individual is key to saving the environment.
Art Teacher: Terrie Forester
H-13
School: Jefferson High School
Student: Brayan Munoz Rendon
Grade: 12
Artist’s Statement: It was important for me to put my creativity to use while recycling materials. In 2020, it's relevant to know that if we care about our planet, we'll go to new places we've never seen before.
Art Teacher: Michelle Turcan
H-25
School: Blake High School
Student: Emily Lake
Grade: 11, 12
Artist’s Statement: I really wanted to express running as a way of traveling. You're able to enjoy the scenery around you and feel the breeze, hence the sunset colors and arrows. The blue to yellow transition also indicates the increase in speed.
Art Teacher: Lenny Cabanero-Harvey
H-30
School: Jefferson High School
Student: Bella Pelaez
Grade: 12
Artist’s Statement: Oh the places you'll go... and the impact you'll have! This sculpture contains colorful mountains, as seen in the book "Oh the Places You'll Go". Below the surface of this landscape, is an ocean entirely of plastic and materials that take a toll on the environment. A pair of shoes can be seen walking into the plastic ocean, as a symbol of our carbon footprint. This bright, colorful scene contrasts against the negative nature of the materials used. In creating this piece, I was alarmed at the garbage I was able to produce in such a short time. Moving forward in 2020 I hope we opt for alternative sustainable solutions throughout the globe & take the steps to change our influence from negative to positive.
Art Teacher: Michelle Turcan
2020 DooDad People’s Choice Award Winners
Made possible by a grant from
School: Academy of The Holy Names
Students: Madeleine Berg, Chloe Boback, Addison Brown, Lauren Echeverry, Regan Hernandez, Emma Kaiser, Sophia Kelly, Reese MacDonald, Rory Martineau, Kamila Muraharisetti, Lin Riser, Bryn Valiente, Isabelle Williams, Michael Xavier
Grade: 8
Artists’ Statement: Our class was so excited for the Annual DooDad Competition! We were eager to brainstorm as a class together and were so excited to sculpt a combination of Tampa Landmarks and shoes! "Oh The Places You'll Go", in Tampa is limitless! As Tampa spreads it wings in leaps and bounds with cutting edge technology, state of the art businesses, and emerging start ups, Tampa consistently is reinventing itself and redesigning gorgeous spaces. You can go anywhere if you have the right pair of shoes on! With our walkable city, there is a million places your shoes can take you! Our display demonstrates and highlights our favorite places around Tampa Bay. We built our own plaster casts and used recycled candy wrappers and chip bags! Enjoy! Now, Go for a walk in The Top 10 Ranked Airport!
Art Teacher: Galina Abele
H-30
School: Jefferson High School
Student: Bella Pelaez
Grade: 12
Artist’s Statement: Oh the places you'll go... and the impact you'll have! This sculpture contains colorful mountains, as seen in the book "Oh the Places You'll Go". Below the surface of this landscape, is an ocean entirely of plastic and materials that take a toll on the environment. A pair of shoes can be seen walking into the plastic ocean, as a symbol of our carbon footprint. This bright, colorful scene contrasts against the negative nature of the materials used. In creating this piece, I was alarmed at the garbage I was able to produce in such a short time. Moving forward in 2020 I hope we opt for alternative sustainable solutions throughout the globe & take the steps to change our influence from negative to positive.
Art Teacher: Michelle Turcan
School: Winthrop Charter School
Students: Sophia Maston, Cameron Wong
Grade: 8
Artists’ Statement: Plastic bags, candy wrappers, and other waste can be used to create something new instead of creating more pollution in the environment. Our shoes can take us everywhere, just like the character in the book, "Oh! The Places You'll Go".
Art Teacher: Jill Maxwell
School: Roland Park K-8 Magnet
Student: Alina Diaz
Grade: 5
Artist’s Statement: All I want to say is I didn't realize before I started this project how many candy and snack wrappers me, my family, and my friends use. This project inspired me to believe that my feet could take me anywhere, from outer space to the deep ocean floor.
Art Teacher: Genevieve Godcharles
School: Grady Elementary
Student: Amina Devoe
Grade: 5
Artist’s Statement: I never realized how much trash the United States has. In the United States, we throw away about 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour. Also we throw away $11.4 billion worth of recyclable containers and packaging every year. This information encouraged me to work harder to recycle. My shoes will take me all over the world to try different baking and cooking skills. My shoes were created from tape, gum wrappers, snack wrappers, and plastic bags.
Art Teacher: Debonique Grigsby
School: Grady Elementary
Student: Milania Capo
Grade: 3
Artist’s Statement: To build my Laffy Air Shoe, I utilized various recycled materials such as water jug, snack wrappers, and newspaper. I used the plastic bag as a shoelace. Laffy Air Shoe is sitting on grass surrounded by bushes made out of recycled materials. I added elements of the fruits to remind us of the beautiful things earth provides. The Laffy logo represents the laughter that comes from today's generation, who will ultimately benefit from today's positive decisions. It's our responsibility to take care of the planet that we live on by reusing materials to reduce future environmental risk and leave a positive footprint. It's essential to raise awareness of all the various materials we can utilize to build our art creation and expand our knowledge along with our imagination.
Art Teacher: Debonique Grigsby
School: Claywell Elementary Gifted Program
Student: Ashley Del Pozo
Grade: 4
Artist’s Statement: "A Turtle's Dream" The turtle represents the variety of species that live in our oceans and are endangered due to the amount of waste. 75% of our waste is recyclable, but only 30% actually gets recycled. The turtle's shoes and footsteps represent the need to move away from its current home to save itself from becoming extinct. We need to be responsible and take better care of our world. If we all make an effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle, we can make a difference.
Art Teacher: Lisa Lawson
School: Homeschool
Student: Emma Ledford
Grade: 3
Artist’s Statement: The little old lady who lived in the Doodad shows us where reusing could take us. All of the things I used I would’ve thrown away. There are ways to reuse things if we just try.
Teacher: Tonya Ledford
School: Grady Elementary
Student: Mackenzie Currea
Grade: 1
Artist’s Statement: My shoe is an airplane. I like airplanes because they can take us to fun places. I used SweeTarts wrappers because they are my favorite candy.
Art Teacher: Debonique Grigsby
