SMACK! Collaborating for Impact

In April 2023, every Art 1 student at Green Level High School created a vibrant 4' (1 m) jellyfish out of marine rope and monofilament (fishing line) reclaimed from the Atlantic. The 100-plus giant jellyfish sculptures filled three cars before being installed more than 40' (12 m) in the air over roadways in one of our local parks. When hundreds of visitors arrived for the town’s art festival, they were greeted with a “smack,” which is what a group of jellyfish is called.

Project Inception
This amazing opportunity evolved organically while chatting over breakfast. Bryant Holsenbeck, an artist and retired art teacher, was receiving a Friend of the Arts award at the North Carolina Art Education Associationʼs annual convention. I sat between her and another Friend of the Arts award recipient, Denise Dickens, the Public Art Program and Exhibition Supervisor for parks and recreation for our town. It was kismet. I eagerly absorbed Holsenbeck’s pitch for a town public art installation involving the creation and exhibition of upcycled jellyfish made from reclaimed ocean pollutants. After receiving support from the Parks and Recreation Department, all Holsenbeck needed was a workforce of about a hundred students, which I was happy to provide.

nd the environment. She began her career as a basket maker and pivoted to installation and sculpture using found materials. In her own words, “I make art inspired by the natural world using the cast-offs of our society that I find everywhere I look.” Holsenbeck once pledged to not use single-use plastic for an entire year and embarked on a “plastic fast” (see Resources).

Learning from the Artist
Six months after our meeting, Holsenbeck arrived at my school with giant bags of material. She went through all three of the art teachers’ beginning art classes showing how to create colorful stable forms using what she found in the ocean. She shared samples of her work and explained her sculpture process. Holsenbeck has created many collaborative works and installations and has vast experience working with kids. It was the easiest collaboration I’ve ever had the pleasure of working on.

Holsenbeck had a vision for the installation and had already collected massive amounts of sculpture material from Maine and the North Carolina coast. She had also already done a maquette installation of jellyfish at a Duke facility in Durham. She knew our installation would have a big impact in a different location: the Bond Park Spring Daze Art Festival. Collaboration was expanded to include our student Environmental Club, who offered to create display boards and share information on ocean pollutants.

Making the Jellyfish
I recommend scheduling a guest artist between the middle and end of the year because classroom norms have been established, and students may be ready for a new voice and perspective. By this point, students were familiar with some of the design principles addressed in this project, such as color theory, texture, and form. We had done a lot of 2D work, so this shift to 3D was very refreshing.

Holsenbeck demonstrated the armature building method and process in which the looped stiff marine rope became both a support and the textured tentacles of the jellyfish. The rope armature was secured with a zip tie, and the monofilament was compressed and tied around the edges with yarn.

Students made their own choices for color schemes, texture, contrast, and other added elements such as yarn and beads. The learning curve was simple enough that students could engage immediately, and it only took two days to complete the project. The promise of a massive public display and exposure motivated students to put forth their best efforts.