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Two Mackenzie College students have proved one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
Anare Ravai and Katey Anderson entered their bespoke pieces into the annual Junk to Funk competition at the South Canterbury Eco Centre.
The competition, held last weekend, had 58 entries.
Anare made a garment out of discarded newspapers, while Katey created flowers from soda cans.
Anare’s eye catching design was a two-piece dress.
The corset had been constructed with papier mache, and was cinched at the waist with cable strapping at the back.
He had carefully stapled the skirt to add volume.
Flowers had been added to the corset to acknowledge Anare’s Fijian heritage.
He had been at Mackenzie College for two years, and said it was nice having a school which provided so much for their students.
Katey created her bouquet of flowers from soda cans, which were displayed in a papier mache vase.
She said making flower petals required flattening the cans and then — using a stencil she found online — she created a template and glued it on to the cans to cut them out.
Her teacher had warned her to be careful cutting the cans with scissors, but she had managed it with no bloodshed.
The duo worked through many lunch times to see their concepts come to life, and were both thankful to fellow student Phostina Folau who helped them when they were sick or struggling.
Katey said, “She was there in the art room with us every single day.”
Anare would definitely think about getting into design as a career.
As for Katey, she said she would “definitely do it again” but while she loved the creative side she felt it was more of a hobby.
The pair were also thankful to their art teacher Rachel Thompson who had been very supportive.
Katey said she would “100%” recommend it to younger students.
“You have nothing to lose. I’m glad I did it.”
The students’ creativity came at a time when the school had just begun planning their first wearable arts fundraiser.
School principal Sam Nelson said the school had changed up its regular art auction which had been running for the last decade and would hold a wearable arts fundraiser instead.
The first would be held in August 2027.
He said the wearable arts fundraiser was another way of providing students and members of the community with a pathway for creative expression.
“The arts are vitally important to us at Mackenzie College.
“We want our students to have a safe, supportive environment where they can express themselves artistically and have the opportunity to share their work with our wider community.”
The school was looking to form a small subcommittee to help organise the event.
Members would not need to be on the PTA to be involved, they simply needed to be interested in wearable arts and enjoy supporting the students, along with being willing to contribute a little time and energy to help make the opportunity a success.
Anyone interested in being involved could contact Sarah O’Leary at sloly6854@gmail.com
shelley.inon@alliedmedia.co.nz