CLAYTON -- Environmental artist Bryant Holsenbeck taught Riverwood Middle School students how to turn trash into art last week.

Students turned wire into molds of whales, flamingos and other creatures. They then filled the molds with newspaper, foam or plastic bags.

“The big thing is the plastic bags,” said Holsenbeck, of Durham. “That is a big deal for me. It makes it better. It makes it softer.”

To complete their works of art, students wrapped them in old clothing, movie film, fuzzy string or other trash that Holsenbeck and Riverwood art teacher Magen Pike brought in bins.

For some students, their economically friendly animals ended up being something different than they had intended. Rebecca Wilkins originally wanted to make a scorpion but soon discovered her piece looked like a dragon. After scouring the bins for scraps of green cloth, she wrapped the pieces around the wire and tied them together tightly.

Classmate Sarah Smithy put her purple panda on the table to pass Wilkins a piece of lime-green material that was soft and stretchy.

“Oh that’s pretty,” Wilkins said as her eyes lit up. “That is really pretty. Oh, I like this fabric. I can use that.”

After examining the fabric a bit closer, Wilkins delved back into her dragon. “I think the fun part is the challenge of it,” she said of the assignment. “You don’t come to class thinking, ‘Today is going to be an easy day.’ You never know what will happen next. and I think that is the best part.”

Fellow student Christine McKinney said creating the skeleton of her animal was tough. But once she picked up strips of blue fabric and string, it was only a matter of minutes before the frame was almost covered.

Like the other students at her table, McKinney had not thought much about recycling before Holsenbeck came to their class. “Recycling is good and stuff, but I think it is more fun to make an art project out of it,” she said. “If you can’t make an art project out of it, I think you should still recycle.”

Getting the students to realize the importance of recycling was a priority for Holsenbeck. She can make art out of most anything, including everyday items such as bottle caps, credit cards, pencils and chopsticks.

She hopes Riverwood Middle students will think twice before simply just throwing their junk in the trash.

“People think when you throw it away, it goes away, like away as in a place that disappears,” Holsenbeck said. “I want people to be aware of how much stuff there is [and] how they can creatively use stuff.”