A tree that doubled as a nostalgic closet containing the treasures of childhood. Another that might have floated away had its boughs (mylar balloons, actually) still been filled with the helium they contained when they drifted away and eventually wound up, deflated and forgotten, on local beaches. And others, 11 all told, made from all sorts of castoff and recycled items, took the chilly stage at Tiverton Four Corners Art Gallery Friday evening, when the results of this year’s Re-Tree art contest and exhibition went on display.

The yearly contest challenges residents to design and build a Christmas tree using all recycled materials. This year’s winner, Carmen Grinkis, took that to heart and drew on her childhood for inspiration by transforming recycled wood and other materials into a conically-shaped ‘tree’ complete with a homage to her old closet inside that included games, toys and other childhood mementos. She called the tree “Moon & Sun, Space & Time.”

“When you go inside you’re actually entering into my closet from when I was 10 years old,” she said. “It’s such an indulgence for me to explore being a kid again.”

One of the contest’s long-standing goals is to encourage recycling and re-use, and there were plenty of contenders. One was made from discarded soda cans painted in white and red, another from worn-out old green garden hoses arranged in a tree-shaped spiral, with digging spades and small green planters for ornaments.

Teresa O’Connor made a statement with her tree, fashioned from many of the 722 mylar balloons she has found on Little Compton beaches over the past three and a half years. “Mylar Balloons Suck,” she wrote on a sign placed adjacent to the tree.

Another with a message came courtesy of Newport Contemporary Ballet, which used its entry as a way to thank Rhode Island for voting  ‘Yes’ in November to a $10 million statewide bond that supports the arts.

More locally, Fort Barton students used a wide variety of school supplies in their tree, and the Tiverton Union Library built one in honor of the summer reading program.

Judges included Jessica Cullinan, Peter Morse and Marika van Vessem, who announced their picks that night. Voting is still open for members of the public, and popular vote winners will be announced next week.