Disneyland Resort sketch artists Jodi Herron and Katie Taylor (above) used 1,923 colored pencils—representing the year The Walt Disney Company was founded—to create a mini replica sketch desk and take first place in this year’s Environmental Art Challenge.
Every year, this creative challenge invites Disneyland Resort cast members to reuse items found in their areas to create amazing works of art, inspiring others by bringing their love of Disney and the environment together. Jodi and Katie’s creation was inspired by the Disney100 Celebration, depicting sketches of Mickey Mouse throughout the company’s history to commemorate its roots.
“We’ve always wanted to do this and we never thought we would win,” Katie said. “We were just excited to even participate.” Katie and Jodi collected pencils for nearly a year in preparation to create their art piece for the cast-exclusive contest during Earth Month.
The pair also incorporated other reused materials from their work area to complete the replica desk, including cardboard, scrap paper and recycled cans. The 28 sketches of Mickey Mouse honor the year Walt created him in 1928—one drawing includes the names of other Disneyland Resort sketch artists, hidden by Jodi and Katie as an Easter egg.
“The environment means so much to the both of us,” Jodi said. “We recycle everything at work—paper, pencils, cardboard. It all gets saved and reused for another project. All of our damaged scratch paper gets reused for printing or early design stages of sketching.”
Check out more of the amazing entries from this year’s Environmental Art Challenge!
Disneyland Resort is committed to achieving environmental sustainability all year long. The Environmental Art Challenge is just one way in which our cast members strive to achieve zero waste to landfill. Learn more about the environmental efforts of The Walt Disney Company at Disney Planet Possible.
Thank you to all the creative, talented cast members who participated in the challenge!