From plastic bags to bottle caps, recycled items find new life as runway looks at Best Day Ever.

Best Day Ever is a one-day art workshop where art students bring trash to create an outfit for their model to represent on the runway. Before they can begin, students are required to bring a bag of clean trash on the bus with them.

“I loved best day ever because it was a fun and creative way to get more comfortable with art,” sophomore Lily Lucas said. “The most rewarding part of the whole experience was getting to watch our creations made out of trash come together and walk down a runway.”

Every year there is a different theme for the event. The outfits they create have to relate to whatever the theme is. Over the years the art department has done twists on Met Gala, and different countries and cultures . Once they make it to FBC the students are separated into teams of six to eight people, to research, draw out and bring their vision to life.

“So the cool thing is, you have kind of peer on peer instruction, and those kids might meet people that they have never met before,” Art Teacher Melissa Manning said. “In four hours they have to research, draw out, and then physically create their designs.”

Once they finish, all of the students get to vote on what team they think created the best outfit. But after all the fun is over, all of the students have to write an artistic statement about their process.

Although it may sound simple, the workshop is very competitive and takes a while to plan. All of the trash is placed into a pile in the middle of the room, and after students finish their planning, they all race to claim their trash before the other teams get to it.

“We throw everything into the center of the room, and everybody circles around it like a bunch of hyenas, and then their group just pounces upon it,” Mrs. Manning said. “So it’s pretty competitive, but fun and engaging.”