Sustainability Artist Statements by OSF Students written to Bamboo Skateboards
OSF x Bamboo Skateboards Graphic Design Challenge
Contest
Criteria (Underlined Below): *Both the Board and Artist Statement will
be considered
Communication:
The student uses their newfound knowledge and inquiry into skateboard graphic
design to visually communicate sustainability concepts and an environmental
consciousness in a publicly presented skateboard (blog & gallery show)
with an original image that leaves some exposed wood.
Application:
The student has applied their newfound knowledge of skateboard graphic design
to visually communicate sustainability concepts and an environmental
consciousness as expressed in their artist statement in a skateboard
submitted to the Bamboo SK8 contest by the deadline.
1.
I am from Toronto, Ontario. I just turned 18 a couple weeks
ago, and it really doesn't feel like I am. My style of art leans towards the
anime manga style. I love designing my own characters. When I figured out I
could make my own characters I started drawing, that was when I was 13
years old. I'm still not very good, but I think I'm getting to a place where I
am happy with my art.
My
skateboard design represents your mascot, the panda. I've never drawn a panda
before so I took this as an opportunity. My template shows your mascot trying
to stop a really big problem in Alberta, Canada called the Tar Sands. The Tar
Sands is a giant hole in the ground. Workers come with their giant trucks and
just dig and dig until there’s barely anything to scrape out. They use
chemicals and oils, and dirty the water nearby. Animals can get caught in these
oils and they can end up with giant tumors. They have giant factories that
pollute the water and they have these tubes that go into the lakes and let out
all the chemicals. Birds will try to fly in and rest in those lakes, and end up
not being able to fly away.
The panda
doesn't want his other animal friends to have to go through this, so he is
holding a stop sign that has a sticker on it that says "Tar Sands".
He is sitting in the middle of the giant tar sands so that the trucks can't
move in. The factory is in the background showing how close it is to the tar
sands. The background is a stormy sky, giving it the feeling that it is a very
gloomy sad day. The outside border has tar dripping all over the board. I
didn't have to research anything for this project because we had teachers come
in and show us what is happening in Alberta.
In order to
create this board I started off by taping up the whole board with green tape.
Then I taped carbon paper on top of the board on the taped side, and then
placed our template on top. I then traced out the first layer of the board, which
is the dripping oil. I untapped the template and carbon paper, and started
cutting my lines with a knife. After my stencil was all cut out, I went outside
and spray painted it. After the paint was dry I peeled the tape off to see how
the board looked. Then I repeated the above process, except I didn’t use the
carbon paper, I redrew everything on top of the tape. In my design I used the
elements colour, line, size, gradation.
I am really
happy with the outcome of this skateboard. At first I thought the design I
picked would be really hard, but the techniques I used made it easier and fun.
This contest with Bamboo SK8 made me really try to work hard on something, and
I haven’t had that feeling in a long time. I truly think it was an honour to be
able to participate in this contest and work with Bamboo SK8. This is the first
graphic I’ve ever put on a skateboard and this taught me that process. I
learned how to meet a deadline; usually I’m pretty bad with those. The topic
sustainability is a hard topic for me because I didn’t know a lot about it. I
had to do a lot of research about sustainability to get ideas about what to do
for my design and I learned a lot of things from it. I want to thank Bamboo SK8
for this amazing opportunity.
2.
Lavish Living
x Bamboo Skate Artist Statement
Hey guys, as you know I'm a student at OSF, just started, and I love it here.
Through this school I've learned a lot about current events happening all over
the world, including the companies that open your eyes to sustainable ideas. I
think that it’s awesome that a business actually puts effort into being
conservative of resources. Companies all around the world with huge carbon
footprints aren't as considerate, as you may know they can be pretty wasteful.
That's exactly what ties into the theme of my board, which is being wasteful
and treating this planet like we have another one to go to.
Lavish
Living means to live wasteful. Abusing resources for no good reason just to
have a slightly more luxurious life. Whenever you see a new condo or another
"fog-monster" factory in your city, it means that trees are replaced
with concrete, and more energy is used thus emitting more carbon. The little
panda slaving away to treat this rich-looking skeleton represents us slowly
killing earth. The skeleton is the symbol for death and the baby panda is our
precious little planet that we call our home.
I had about
17 different layers and hand painted the last little bit. For some of the tiny
details, I was able to use this awesome stuff called frisket film. It's similar
to taping up your board and cutting out your design, but instead its a
completely see through thin piece of plastic with very little adhesive. Being
able to see through tape is key, we have a lot of details that we don't exactly
see placed on the board, so being able to see-through stops from having to peel
tape off over and over again for each layer. Also, the little bit of adhesive
doesn't lift off paint when placed on top of your board.
The outcome
was definitely a relief. It was a lot of work, but in the end my graphic came
out almost exact as to what my original design was. All the colours made even
more layers to work with, but it was way worth it in the end. Through this
project I learned a ton on sustainability issues, but also realized how hard
you have to work for something to look good and complete. I had a blast working
with the Bamboo Skateboards and hope you guys like my design.
3.
Hello, I’m a 17-year-old girl. It’s my second
semester at Oasis Skateboard Factory and the first time I’ve heard about your
company. I’ve learned interesting things about Bamboo Skateboards and the
message that you guys are spreading about sustainability is great!
Throughout the unit we started learning about
sustainability, mostly everything that I have learned about sustainability is
new to me. We learned what the Tar Sands were and about oil factories that
cause deforestation. This is what the theme of my graphic is about. The animals
are the ones that are suffering and, because they don’t have the same rights
that we do, they are ignored.
My graphic incorporates the two images of two different
animals that are threatened: the panda and the polar bear. I decided to make my
design into a comic, so it’s showing you that things can be happening at the
same time around the world. I chose a polar bear out of all the animals because
it represents that even though they live in a cold environment away from all
that bamboo, the oil factories still affect the water; which is what they need
the most. Both of these bears are in very different parts of the world, but
these oil factories still affect them all the same.
In my graphic I incorporated the silhouette of an oil
factory and tar sands that the polar bear is sitting on. Tar sands are huge, so
that’s why I made the polar bear bigger than the tar sand, to represent this
monstrous destructive animal that’s crying for its environment. I made the
polar bear hold a fragile plant to represent that its environment is being
endangered. The panda bear has
those crazy eyes to represent all the rage it has. I made the panda biting onto
the skateboard and ripping it apart to represent everything that has been
destroyed and taken away from them.
The techniques I used to make my graphic come to life were
tape stencils to do the different layers for the background and spray paint to add
all the colours I used. For the bears I hand painted it using acrylic paint.
For the final touch I used a clear semi-gloss to seal the graphic onto the
board. I used contrast between the bamboo wood and the dull looking colours to
make the comic book style pop more.
I love animals and I believe that with generosity and loving
care that we can connect to our animals of the earth that will result a
positive outcome. I was so excited to start on this project, I love the concept
of Bamboo skateboards and just even doing a board for your company is an
honour. This project keeps you
aware of things that are happening to our earth, just like a plant, it needs to
be taken care of. With your
company, you create awareness around the world about the environment and saving
our ecosystem starts with awareness.
4.
Hello
Bamboo Skateboards!!! I'm 17, and a new student
here at Oasis Skateboard Factory. I've been drawing for as long as I can remember,
but didn't really start taking it seriously until grade 8. OSF so far has been amazing;
it’s really been a dream come true. I get to apply my love for art, and hands
on work everyday and get to meet new people and work on amazing projects with
awesome companies, such as this one were doing with you guys :).
My main
idea for the bamboo board graphic was the OSF octopus scrubbing the oily goop
off the surface world, and stopping the drips of oil from falling and
destroying more of the underwater life, and the water itself. This to me shows
how we (not only the OSF crew but other skaters, artists, designers, anyone
really) try to protect our environment, and natural resources. The octopus has
its arm up holding the brush, in victory because it’s cleaning up the mess the
oil companies and society has made.
Working on
this project was a bit stressful, but it was a great experience overall. My
graphic turned out better then I planned in my opinion. I loved that I was able
to do some sick colour blending with the different coral pieces and the water.
I think the graphic depicts my want to protect underwater life clearly and
people will understand my idea when they see it. I'm so happy I'm being given
the chance to shed light on such an important issue. Our water (seas, oceans,
rivers etc.) is pretty much our life source. Without water, living things can't
live. So we need to cherish and protect the water, and all the living creatures
in it! Of course I hope I win the
contest but if I don't, I'll still feel that I've won because I get a dope
bamboo board with a super meaningful graphic!
5.
I love pandas. This is my
second semester at OSF and I love it here! Everyone here is open-minded and
non-judgmental and I get along with everyone. I love this school because it
lets me create. Before I came here, my creativity and resources were limited.
Now at OSF nothing is impossible. It lets me be creative to my full potential.
The design
for my bamboo board is a crying panda hugging the world. There is a huge crack
in the earth to represent the destruction that has been done by actions that
are not helpful to the environment and unsustainable. The panda is crying
because it is sad that the world is falling apart. In my graphic the world is falling
apart and this represents the destruction that is going on right now all around
the world. The panda is comforting the world because it wants to make it feel
better and it wants to be comforted too. If we want to actually make changes to
make the world a better place, we need to work at it. The panda in my graphic
represents this idea. We need to help each other to make the world a better
place by taking actions that help the environment and promote sustainability.
If we work toward a sustainable future, then bamboo will be around forever and
pandas should be around forever too. This is what we need to work toward.
When
designing my board I started out by spraying the background first. Then I taped
my board and cut out my designs and painted them one colour at a time until my
whole design was complete. After the last colour was done, I pulled off all the
tape and touched up parts with a paint marker. Once all the touch up is done I
put three layers of gloss to finish the board.
I was
really excited to create a board that features my favorite animal and has a
message that will help them to survive. I like to create graphics and this one
really meant something to me. There are a million ways that I compare myself to
a panda and hugging for comfort is just one. This design let me express that.
6.
Konnichiwa!
(Hello!)
I'm an eighteen-year-old girl living in Toronto, Ontario. My hobbies
are digital art and fashion inspired from Harajuku style in Tokyo, Japan. My
look and my brand express my love for Japanese culture: Anime/Manga, Cosplay,
fashion and music as well as their traditions and history. This is my first
year attending Oasis Skateboard Factory and I love it! I've made great new
friends and can spend the entire day working on art; I honestly couldn't ask
for a better school. The greatest thing about being here is that I can learn
about skateboarding and hopefully soon know how to skateboard. With the brand
that I created I want to show girly girls like me can skateboard too. I'll bring
my Harajuku style with skater mixed and touch of cute!
My design
represents the crucial awareness of protecting our planet and the animals
around us. Our carbon footprint is massive and every thing we do affects the
world. I chose a panda, not only because its Bamboo SK8's mascot, but because a
panda is also an important image to children, culture and the world. The panda
is an endangered species, threatened by continued habitat loss and by a very
low birthrate, both in the wild and in captivity. My design features a panda
being cute and innocent as they usually are. It is holding a toy ball and a
strong symbol that holds a solution to our current problems: the recycling
symbol. Something so easy to do yet people seem to be unaware of how crucial it
really is. The design is meant to have an impact; an image that shows something
that looks innocent but in reality, most pandas are in captivity or always
being watched, filmed or sometimes secretly hunted even though its illegal. Our
decisions affect those around us, for instance, the disaster in Japan destroyed
pandas habitat there, causing them to be sent somewhere where they need to
learn how to adapt if they can…pandas are extremely smart animals. One reason
the panda is so vulnerable is that bamboo dies off periodically after blooming and
pandas so dislike people that they would starve rather than cross an inhabited
area to find a fresh source of food.
Now to
explain the process of how I put my design on. I drew out a template of the
bamboo board. On the template I then proceeded to draw out my design. Once I
felt the rough layout of the design was complete, I chose colours I thought
suited my theme (because in harajuku fashion, they love to use vibrant colours
in most of there many differently styles, I chose colours that were exactly
that.) Once I finished colouring in the design, I taped the entire board and
then also begun to tape carbon paper underneath my design and then taped both
the carbon paper which was taped to the design onto the board. The next thing I
did was then decided which layer I was going to do first! I choose to do the
pink because it was the colour used the most on the design, I traced out the
entire base of the design and then I used an x-acto knife and cut the inside of
the traced base of the design and spray painted it pink! Once the spray paint
of that layer dried I then peeled off that set of tape, re-taped it then I then
choose the next decided layer and repeat! Once I was done spray painting each
layer on I then traced out and then stenciled out the lining of the design and
cut it out with the x-acto knife and then spray painted the stenciled out
linking in black- after that layer of spray paint dried I peeled off that set
of tape and then touched up little things with paint marker and then my design
was complete!
I'm really
proud of the outcome because this was also my first board and was great
experience for me as a first and I'm really glad my first board was for Bamboo
SK8!
7.
This will be my 4th semester at this awesome Oasis school and
I'm really grateful to have the opportunity to work on this project, even if
it’s my second time doing it, ha-ha :p. I incorporated my brand “Thumper” into
this project thus the reason for the bunny.
The concept
of this board is how our actions are affecting wildlife. What you see in this
graphic is a dying bunny with plastic rings around its neck. How did they get
there? By people not properly putting their garbage where it’s supposed to be,
and by not taking care of this, animals like this bunny get extremely injured
or even die because of peoples’ stupid actions. The reason I made this graphic
was for everyone to look at it and think deeply about what their actions do to
wildlife and to themselves. Land pollution is pollution of the Earth’s natural
land surface by industrial, commercial, domestic and agricultural activities.
This is because we don't recycle. No one thinks about what that might do to a
poor little bunny or to any other wildlife that’s in the area. I strongly
approve of throwing waste in its proper place. It does not belong on the floor.
It belongs in a garbage or a recycling box. I strongly advise everyone to do
the same. It benefits us all in the long run, for our health, safety and most
importantly for the wellbeing of the wildlife. Throwing out your garbage and
keeping the earth safe is just something that should be done. Why would you want
to live in filth? Do you throw trash on your floor in your home? I didn't think
so, so why do it to the animals’ home? Now think about that one.
I’m
grateful to work with Bamboo Skateboards, a company that is focusing on the
betterment of the environment and improving the earth. Thanks for working with
OSF and giving students the opportunity to work on such an important project!
8.
This is my second semester at OSF. Building skateboards is
awesome, but my true passion has always been writing, starting with fiction and
expanding to everything else. I came to OSF because writers must also be business
people and I wanted to learn more about creating merchandise and branding for
the ezine I'm preparing to launch: Centre of the Universe, Battling Ignorance
(http://centreoftheuniversezine.wordpress.com). This school has given me the
opportunity to work with professional artists and create merchandise to go with
my ezine, putting me well ahead of many other brand new ezines.
Most
recently I was given the opportunity to create this board for Bamboo Skateboards,
a company focused on sustainability. The challenge was to incorporate
sustainability concepts into our design. I challenged myself to also
incorporate my brand, and this is what I came up with. “Self taught” is my
slogan and the idea is that we teach ourselves about caring for the planet, in
this case about recycling. Many people in my generation have parents who litter
or who just don't recycle. It's up to us to make sure we recycle and to know
what we can recycle. Thus the graphic on the board shows someone throwing a
spray paint can into a recycling bin, implying that this person went out and
discovered recycling him or herself.
But the
imagery isn't just about what's happening on the board. It's about the fact
that we need to pay more attention and educate ourselves about sustainability.
We need to learn how to lessen the impact we have on the environment and take
action on what we've learned. My hope is that this board will inspire everyone
who sees it to learn more about how to care for our planet.
Making this
board was both simple and challenging. The most difficult part was creating the
brick wall background. Drawing straight lines on a curved surface isn't easy.
It's a long tedious process. That layer alone took me an entire day to draw.
Placing the words properly around the hand and recycling bin was also pretty
difficult. At times I hated this board, but I pushed through the hard parts and
ended up with a board that looks even better than I'd imagined.
The one
addition I made in the final stages of creating this board was two recycling
bins, one on the nose and one on the tail of the board. I did this to balance
the board because it looked odd with the nose and tail blank. It wasn't a big
change, but I feel like it made all the difference in making the graphic
amazing.
Participating
in this contest has been truly awesome as environmental issues are one of the
main topics I plan to tackle in my ezine: Centre of the Universe: Battling
Ignorance. Not only has designing my board been a great learning process, but
it's been amazing to watch what the other students have created. Working with a
professional skateboard company such as Bamboo Skateboards has also been a
great experience. It's been challenging to incorporate the different ideas they
gave me during the feedback process, but nobody accomplishes great things
unless they challenge themselves.
All in all,
I'm excited for the chance to win the contest, but if I don't, it's no
biggie--it just means I get to keep an awesome branded bamboo board.
9.
This is my first semester at Oasis Skateboard Factory. My Bamboo
board design is based on the idea of an urban roof top garden. The graphic is a
cherry blossom on top of a building. I chose the Cherry Blossom because traditionally
it represents strength and power; the roots are taking over the city building
to show the power of nature. Roof top gardens absorb the heat that can
potentially destroy the ozone, so the trees and gardens are saving us from
ourselves.
The Bamboo Skateboards
symbol is incorporated into the graphic of the tree because as a company Bamboo
Skateboards is making a difference by using bamboo instead of Canadian maple
that is hard to sustain. Bamboo is
a fiber that will keep producing itself, so there is not the impact that we see
with traditional forestry.
I love
working with watercolour and acrylic painting. I was pretty happy with the idea
of being able to hand paint some of my bamboo board. The blossoms on the board
are hand-painted with acrylics because I wanted to give them texture and
individuality. The other parts of the graphic were stenciled and spray-painted
with the help of some paint markers for the finishing touch. I also used a lot of organic lines to
capture the wildness of Cherry Blossoms.
Bamboo Skateboards
gives opportunities for others to use something eco-friendly and not leave a
carbon footprint. I learned that
there are environmentally friendly opportunities for a lot of things, even
skateboards.
10.
Wuddup
Bamboosk8!?!??!!
A first year student at OSF, I'm extremely excited to
be able to collaborate with you guys. I also think it's amazing what your doing
with bamboo! There really is no comparison to a regular maple deck.
My graphic shows that using bamboo is not only better for
skateboards but also better for our environment. My bamboo skater is standing
on a cliff overlooking a ginormous forest of evergreens with some mountains.
The mountains supply our forests and other surrounding areas with some of the
cleanest water in the world that has been melting from glaciers, which are
becoming more and more dirty day by day from deforestation for materials for
skateboards, mining and many other reasons. I think personally the less we have
to mess with our irreplaceable resources the better it will be for our planet
as a whole.
I took a different route when making my graphic. Instead of
the regular spray painting which usually clogs up the natural beautiful grain
of the bamboo, I chose to air brush my graphic with water based paints that
seeped deep in to the wood to enhance the grain of each individual bamboo
strand. At first I started off with the blue green and light brown background
then I moved in to more detail with my bamboo skater and I finished off my
detailing with paint marker. It took me a while to get it right. At first I
tried the graphic in spray paint but I really didn’t like the texture or
overall look of the graphic so I sanded the whole thing down and started over in
airbrush.
When I was first thinking of a design I had total artist
block. I couldn’t think of anything to do for sustainability then it all kind
of came together in one night and when I finally had my graphic picked I really
didn’t want the whole thing to be complete. Just to see how the bamboo took to
the paint was truly amazing. In the long run it was an amazing experience and I
loved being able to put my version of sustainability on to something that could
be seen by the whole world.
11.
#SaveTheDinosaurs
Simple, yet
effective as always, black and white is just timeless… too bad the dinosaurs
weren’t. My name TRNE TRKS, I’ve been an Oasis student for too long and they’ve
been the greatest years of my life.
This is my second time doing the Bamboo SK8 project; it’s such a
privilege to work for such a recognized and high-end company so you know I put
in my best effort.
This
graphic took me about the longest two days of my life, lol. I used regular
painters tape, an X-Acto knife, a lot of patience, and black and white Montana
spray paint. I don’t think I can ever look at another X-Acto blade without
remembering all the crazy straight lines I carved from the black layer. All in
all though it was so worth it. I’m proud of my work and even if I don’t win I
get to keep an awesome board. The Bamboo SK8 team suggested that I work a bit
of colour into my art but I decided to stay true to the original and keep it
really graphic. It’s a solid black and white with a lot of movement and
continuous flow on a beautiful bamboo veneer. This is a very comic book, a
flat, yet eye catching graphic.
The oil
droplets from the joints of the dinosaur leads the viewer’s eyes to the tail of
the board, which is a puddle of oil that forms a skull. This is to represent
what oil truly leads to, nothing but pollution and death. One droplet actually
makes a tear drop for the skeleton as it’s trying to flee for its “life”
instead of becoming oil. The skateboard that the dinosaur is holding reads
“less bones more skaters” as we know oil is a non-reusable resource and we are
running out, BUT we don’t need more dinosaur bones… we just need more
skaters.
So in
conclusion, skating or biking or whatever you do instead of driving doesn’t
harm the environment, it is part of a healthy lifestyle and is incredibly fun!
So get on a skateboard and #SaveTheDinosaurs! Also a REALLY big thank you to
Bamboo skateboards in California, you guys are awesome! Thanks for teaming up
with OSF. Keep it real.
- TRNE TRKS
12.
I love skateboarding and eating good food. I’ve been
taking skateboarding to the next level since the summer of ’09. I’m a first
year student here at OSF and I’ve been enjoying every second of it. The things
you learn are un-believable. The best part about it, it’s all about
skateboarding
For my
graphic, I came up with the Bamboo skateboard army of panda’s, starting a
revolution to save the earth and all its surrounding beauty. They plan to start
by showing the world about the positives about bamboo. I figured I’d make one
leader panda that’ll take matter into his own hands and gather up all believers
who want to push forward in our giant step to making this world a better place.
Here at the
Skateboard Factory, they teach us many techniques to apply that picture in your
head onto a piece of wood from tape stencils, a printing press, or wood
burning. The method I have used for this board is the tape stencils, with layer
after layer of tape. Most of the students and I used spray paint to color it
in. Afterwards I took a paint marker and fixed-up the lines that were a tad
rough.
After
finishing this project, it really gave me an idea of sustainability. Not only
did I learn how to spell it, I also learned that bamboo is a much more
sustainable product than maple or any other wood for that matter. People take
advantage of this beautiful planet that the “big blue hippo-in-the-sky” gave us
everyday, and this project really opened my eyes to the whole “sustainable”
subject. It made me a lot more aware of the possible events that could occur if
we do not take action sooner than later.
13.
Hi, I've been at OSF for about two months and have found the experience
rewarding. I’ve found it rewarding because I can actually finish work and I
like the outcome of it. One of the things I liked the outcome of was my custom
skateboard, that I thought would come out badly and uncentered, but actually it
came out perfect! Another skateboard I liked is the bamboo board you guys let
me design. I like the graphic but also I like what you guys stand for. I like
the bamboo boards because they are light and have a lot of pop, but also
because they are sustainable.
My
skateboard graphic is the world but it is shaped like a piece of bamboo. I made
this because I was trying to send out the message that bamboo can hold up the
world, metaphorically. Bamboo can hold up the world because it is an
alternative to trees and it will never stop growing. I used the world because this
is a global issue, and there aren’t really good environmentally friendly
products in skateboarding except for bamboo. I used a piece of bamboo because I
think that it is one of the most sustainable alternatives to wood. I found my
inspiration in this project by learning about how and why bamboo is
sustainable. The way I made my graphic was by green taping the entire board and
then cutting out the layers of my stenciled graphic, and then painting over it.
When I was
starting out with my board I didn't really like it, but when I finished it I
was really happy with the outcome. I also found that the contest aspect was
really motivating, because everyone was really into it and working hard to
finish. I learned a lot about bamboo and its sustainability, but also about
your company and how you are trying to do your part in saving the earth.
14.
My bamboo
skateboard design for sustainability represents the deforestation of trees, and
as a consequence the habitats of animals. On the board there are three moneys.
The one on the top is holding the edge of the board (or whatever you can
imagine). The one in the center/ middle of the board is holding a sign
exclaiming the damage to his habitat and is surrounded by a tree stump and
bamboo shoots, which represents the mass growing of bamboo and how you can get
so much more from this sustainable product of nature which is still durable (if
not more durable than) than maple. Bamboo does so much less damage to not just
trees but to the lives of animals that WILL go extinct if the process of
deforestation continues. Last but not least, surrounded by a spray can, sitting
on a tree stump, is a monkey who is sand belting the edges of his board made
from bamboo.
As I have
stated above, the graphic on the skateboard is made to represent how much more
sustainable bamboo is compared to the huge manufacturing and deforestation
process that goes into skateboarding every year. But it also represents the
street art/hip hop/skate culture as well as activism and delinquency against a
system that is so focused on destroying natural resources.
15.
Hi, I am currently a student at Oasis Skateboard Factory as
well as an artist and of course a skater. I am in my second semester at OSF and
I am loving it. This project is an amazing opportunity to work with a company
that not only creates great skateboards but also makes a real difference in the
world. It’s amazing that our school teaches sustainability and lets us work
with real companies making an impact on the climate change problem. I was
recently introduced through my school to a company that makes sustainably
sourced chocolate with virtually no carbon footprint, using bicycle and solar
power. I have been volunteering helping them with their business and it has
been a very rewarding experience for me.
I believe
we in North America and other developed countries are currently living in a
strange utopian bubble. Our society depends on amazing technology that
thousands of years of research and development have created. If you have the money you’re every whim
or fantasy can be fulfilled. But it is a bubble very close to getting popped!
We are very slowly becoming aware of and accepting some very sad realities about
where our world is going and if we stay on this path those realities are not
pretty at all.
But it is
not too late, we still have the time, the know-how, and the technology to turn
things around; places like Bamboo Skateboards and other social enterprises that
make sustainability a priority are on the right track. My graphic is focused on
the idea of not only recycling and re-using but also closing the loop of waste.
Every year thousands of pounds of perfectly good wood are dumped into landfill
when they could be relatively easily re-used. The idea in my graphic: why not
put that wood to work to build new houses, tables, chairs, staircases,
armoires, but best of all skateboards!
In the
State of the Union address this year, the President of the United States talked
about the idea of market-based solutions to fix our environmental decay. This
is exactly what we need right now and my graphic is about a way to save our
environment and still make some money, which is practically the definition of a
social enterprise. Thank you for this opportunity to work with you, and I look
forward to getting some feedback on the graphic I have created.
16.
I am currently a student at OSF. Sadly I am here for only
one semester; I only found out about this amazing school last semester. During
my time here though I have found out a lot about skateboarding and
longboarding, art and myself. I am also a vegetarian, which relates to my
bamboo graphic theme, which is about food sustainability and the mass
production of animals. My graphic focuses specifically on the production of
cattle. The cows are over-bread, squeezed into small environments together and
pumped with antibiotics. That is only the start of the horror.
My
inspiration for this design is to open people’s eyes to industrial meat
production. The meaning of the images I used explains how the factories work.
At the top of the board you can see all the cows hanging with not much space
and they do not look very appetizing because they are not. The cows are also a
greenish dead colour because they are all not really healthy because they do
not get fed properly or taken care of much. Luckily there is meat made well at
organic farms where they treat the animals well, take care of their health and
they usually get slaughtered closer to where they are sold so they do not need
preservatives. The materials I used for this board are spray paint stencils and
paint marker. The elements of design on this board contain a colour style that
is represents dullness and unhealthy looking colours.
I feel
pretty good about the deck but wish I did maybe a bit of a different colour
scheme but colours define the vibe of the board. I am very happy that I am in
this contest and I do not wish to necessarily win, but being a participant is
enough for me. During the process of making this graphic I have also learned
more about graphic design. I am very happy to be a part of the sustainable
movement and wish you guys at Bamboo Skateboards the best of luck!
17.
This is my first semester at Oasis Skateboard Factory and I
currently ride a longboard and now am getting back into skateboarding. The
theme of my board is the extinction of animals due to the overflow of need for
oil.
The concept
behind my image is that the animals that are going extinct are fighting back.
The meaning of the old gas pump is that our old ways take an effect into
problems now with extinction. I think this board has two places where
sustainability really shines through: sustainability of animal’s habitats and
sustainability for oil and how we are going to limit the amount of oil people
use on a day-to-day basis.
Materials
used were green low-tack tape and a Montana spray paint. I feel like I had a
better drawn out template then it actually turned out on the board. The contest
had me excited so I tried to finish it quickly, this is when I ran into a
problem with high-tack tape that brought up a lot of paint when I took it off
due to the fact that the boards were sealed before we got them so the paint did
not fully dry. All in all I thought it was a great experience, I’m very happy
with the finished product and in terms of the contest I’m excited to see the
results. I would also like to thank Bamboo Skateboards for letting us have this
opportunity and look forward to working with them in the near future.
18.
Greetings
from Oasis! I'm 17 and a second semester student from Oasis Skateboard Factory.
My board is related to sustainability because it’s a panda named Buddha the
Bamboo Skateboards mascot sitting in a recycling bin eating the world.
He is
eating the world because it is corrupt and falling apart. If he destroys it he
can turn it into a newer, better planet, one that will not destroy its self and
depend on surviving by killing its resources.
The methods
and techniques I used to create this graphic are the street techniques of
stenciling. I stenciled the graphic on with the color scheme I designed in my
template.
I feel that
this board is a good, positive image to represent sustainability. I learned
that to design a good graphic takes a lot of dedicated time and concentration.
It was a great experience working with Bamboo Skateboards. Pce out!
19A&B.
I have been enrolled at OSF for a semester and a half now! Being at
OSF is such an eye opening experience, the people you meet and the things that
you do and learn all really change your perception of what life is and how we
as inhabitants of it have to appreciate and explore!
My mindset
coming into this project was excitement to work with a company that I have been
thoroughly ecstatic about after riding their boards for a long time. I had
never thought about their message so I did some research on their
sustainability ideas and what the company was really trying to portray in the
community.
After all
that I soon understood that what they want is exactly what I have been taught
through OSF. Upcycling and renewal of well-used products is something the world
has been looking at for a while now but has really only been showing it
visually and not physically. My double-sided graphic not only visually portrays
sustainability but also uses the outline of a mini board to physically make the
consumer think about what they bought and how it can be used in more than one
way. On the bottom my graphic shows "BAMBOODAH" peacefully eating the
bamboo around him sustaining the eco system by making sure there is no over
growth so other animals can roam through the jungle and hunt they're own prey!
My other
side like I said has a template with an updated version of the Bamboo
Skateboards logo and the panda head above it. Around the simplistic Bamboo
Skateboards design is a thin line silhouetting a mini board with a pair of
scissors showing that you can use that board as more than a street skating
deck. A cruiser is what you get afterwards but the feeling of making your own
deck is the best part of the aftermath. Knowing that you've helped the world by
not buying a new board and helped yourself by saving money.
After it
all, I’ve learned a lot about sustainability and how to change the world with
different thinking methods and practices. Hopefully everyone in the world
figures out a way to introduce sustainability into his or her lives!
