Annie Zirin

A paper model of the Chicago skyline.

I teach third, fourth, and fifth grade in a suburban school north of Chicago, and this past school year was my first experience implementing a full TAB curriculum in my art room. As I began wrapping up a wonderful year full of student exploration and engagement, I realized I had one issue left to deal with: the Unwanted Artwork Bin.

I have a rule in my art room that students are not allowed to throw their “mistakes” in the trash. If they are working on a piece and decide they don’t like it, it goes in the Unwanted Artwork Bin.

A whimsical painted paper collage.

Every so often, one of my young artists, stuck for an idea, will dip into the bin, fish out somebody’s artwork, and make it into something new. I call these Beautiful Oops projects, after Barney Saltzberg’s fantastic children’s book. As June arrived, the Unwanted Artwork Bin piled high, and I felt sick at the thought of consigning all these lovely unfinished pieces to the recycling bin.

Thatʼs when I came up with the idea for the First Annual Unwanted Artwork Olympics. For each class, the setup looked like this: I divided students into teams of three or four. Every group got a roll of masking or duct tape, scissors, a bottle of glue, and access to the hotglue guns. I set out the bins of unwanted artwork in the middle of the floor.

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