Solving a Rubik’s cube can be a challenge in itself, but 600 to create an image that’s a whole different ball game. One contest that actually requires 600 Rubik’s cubes and a mosaic is the You CAN do the Rubik’s Cube Mosaic Contest. This spring one student from GHS competed and placed second in the visual category of this competition.
“Danny’s mosaic which was called ‘Man on a Boat Riding Into the Sunset’, was one of visual artist Giovanni Contardi’s favorite mosaics in the You CAN Do the Cube Mosaic Contest,” librarian Mrs. Kari Bulgrin said. “So we won a class set of 12 Rubik’s Cubes. The You CAN Do the Cube Mosaic Contest has two parts, you put your completed mosaic on Facebook, and people vote or there’s the visual contest where they have an artist choose the best ones.”
Senior Daniel Anderson’s mosaic was awarded second place by visual artist Giovanni Contardi. Even though he did not win the voting portion of the contest, he is still proud of what he did.
“I was very surprised,” Anderson said. “It felt great knowing that people can do things that actually change the world around them. Most of the time, the world seems to operate the same whether we do anything or not, but times like this disprove those theories.”

The contest is not new for GHS, in fact, seniors Lauren Bertelson and Madison Haddix competed last year but did not win. Because of this Anderson knew about the contest, however, he still had the challenge of making his own mosaic.
“I wanted to come up with something that would be appealing,” Anderson said. “That idea led to the sunset in the background. After that, I needed something to be happening in the forefront. I thought the boat would provide the detail I wanted while being simple enough to be created with the limited colors on the cube.”
Not only did Anderson have to design and construct his own mosaic, but he also had to race against a little nuisance called COVID-19. With school closure looming, he was up against the clock to finish it in time.
“He was working on his Mosaic in the last week of February and the first week of March,” Mrs. Bulgrin said. “Then the second week of March he wanted to finish his design. Schools were starting to close down because of the pandemic. On our last day, we didn’t know it was our last day but we kind of thought maybe, he stayed after school until 4:30-5:00ish to finish. I took his picture next to it, and I took a bunch of pictures so that we had it done. Then the next week we didn’t have school and then I got an email during that week of no school that said due to the Coronavirus I needed to sanitize all 600 Rubik’s cubes and pack them up and ship them as soon as possible, we were supposed to have them until spring break.”
Because of his diligent work, he finished it in the nick of time. This is the first time a GHS student has won anything like this for the school. However, for Anderson, that is not what it is all about.
“It’s not so much as what I did, but what I was doing,” Anderson said. “I was engaging with friends. I was creating something new. I changed my environment. I was facing setbacks and conquering them. In itself, those factors are what made it rewarding.”
Overall, Anderson’s excellence and talent in the “You CAN Do the Cube” Mosaic Contest won the library a set of Rubik’s Cubes. But more importantly, it provided an avenue for creativity and friendship.