SALT LAKE CITY (KTVX) – Students from Bella Vista Elementary and Jordan High School in Utah came together this spring to complete a special project – bringing monsters to 3D reality.
It all started with a challenge given to Keven Proud’s sculpture class at Jordan High. For this challenge, the high school students were told to create plush toys based on drawings made by third graders in Rebecca Allen’s class at Bella Vista Elementary earlier this year.
The project has since become a powerful venture, giving both classes an opportunity to unleash their creativity and learn how imaginations can be brought to life through art.
Both classes met on the morning of April 26 to unveil their monsters and work together once again to create backstories for each of the characters.
Finished plush sculptures by Jordan High School and Bella Vista Elementary students. Courtesy: Canyons School District 
Jordan High School and Bella Vista Elementary students pose together. Courtesy: Canyons School District 
Bella Vista students creating their monsters. Courtesy: Canyons School District 
Bella Vista students creating their monsters. Courtesy: Canyons School District 
Bella Vista students creating their monsters. Courtesy: Canyons School District 
Jordan High School students creating monster sculptures. Courtesy: Canyons School District 
Jordan High School students creating monster sculptures. Courtesy: Canyons School District 
Jordan High School students creating monster sculptures. Courtesy: Canyons School District
“They were so excited,” Rebecca Allen remarks. “Just pure elation and that nervous energy from little 8-year-olds, 9-year-olds, is really fun… We were really shocked with the diversity that those kids were able to create and develop just out of their own imagination.”
During the design and build process, students put their talents to the test to construct these original monster creations from the ground up.
According to Keven Proud: “The thing that I have enjoyed and wanted [the students] to get out of this is the opportunity to use art to serve or give to somebody else…”
Following the big reveal, these classes have come away with a greater appreciation for the arts and a better understanding of what’s possible when creative forces come together.