The student body of Central Junior High became one work of art Thursday.

The mass of bodies that the students formed on the ground created a butterfly when viewed from the sky.

Conceptual artist Daniel Dancer uses leaves, recycled materials and people to make his creations, called “Art for the Sky.”

“It’s a metaphor for our own lives,” said Dancer, a Lawrence native who now resides in Oregon. “A lot of times, things don’t make any sense on the ground, but if we can see the big picture there, we can find the creative solutions to our problems.”

Dancer has given presentations to the school’s science classes this week. The Grassland Heritage Foundation sponsored his visit, and the choice of making a butterfly was no accident. The foundation wants to raise awareness that the butterfly is in danger.

“In Kansas, it’s considered to be a species of concern,” said Angie Babbit, the volunteer coordinator for the foundation. “This is just one (of the organisms) that cannot survive without the prairie.”

All of the school’s 450 students and their teachers dressed in different colors to fill the butterfly. After Dancer’s direction, he and Stan Herd, a prominent crop artist, went up in a crane to get the whole picture. Dancer started art from the sky after working as a photographer for Lawrence native Herd.

“That’s where the seeds, literally, of this art form were born,” Dancer said.

Dancer’s previous artworks range from whales and salmon to birds and trees. “It’s all about reconnecting ourselves with the earth and the sky, sort of beginning a new relationship with the natural world,” he said.

Tanner Harwood, a ninth-grader, saw how Dancer wants to use his art to send a message. “He goes around to make these pictures to get people involved to help keep the earth preserved,” he said.

The students also got Dancer’s concept of working together for the whole.

“We’re all together doing the same thing and sharing the same thing,” said seventh-grader Amber Travelbee.

For Dancer, collaboration is vital to his finished products. “Everybody gets to experience the power of collaboration and their interconnection with each other,” he said. “(It’s) a great metaphor for what we need in the world today.”

Dancer’s work can be seen at artforthesky.com.