Young Women's Leadership Academy students worked hard and long preparing 24,000 donated water bottles for a giant sculpture coming together in the basement of the Fort Worth Community Arts Center.
Alongside New Jersey artist Willie Cole, the students made the pile of bottles needing to be prepped smaller and smaller. With heat guns, the students punctured holes in the bottom of the bottles, preparing them to be strung together with wire in the next phase of the Tarrant County Education Foundation art project.
Cole, who arrived in Fort Worth on Oct. 23, taught the students how to prepare the bottles. The project is expected to be completed by March 2024 and on display at the community arts center through the end of that month.
Dr. Arlene Barnett, the co-founder of the Tarrant County Education Foundation, had one goal: expose students to alternative career paths.
Cole's next visit to Fort Worth will be in March 2024, Barnett said. By that time, students will have prepped the water bottles, strung them together with wire into sheets and be prepared to finally construct the sculpture.
"This is monotonous work. I can see how it can be boring. I'm usually in front of the television when I'm prepping bottles," Cole said. "We need (students) to be steady to get this project done."
