Communal Collage Making and Class Legacy

Working with kids never ceases to amaze me.  I am continually impressed by their creativity, their insights and their talent.
A while back I spent an artist residency at Claysburg Kimmel High School, working with a group of seniors on a mural that will be their legacy to the school after they graduate.
We had a ton of fun and despite the serious senior-itis they were all experiencing (it was their final project before graduation), we got a lot done.

We started our process by talking about their class and what message they wanted to leave behind as they moved on.
They talked about how they were all individuals, coming from different backgrounds before starting school together.  Being a small rural community, most of these kids have known each other for most of their lives, but school has been their rock keeping them together.  They are now ready to move on and off into different directions.

From this conversation we talked about the metaphor of the tree, and how the roots were their individual identities, the trunk was their time together in school and the branches were their future paths as they take what they have learrned and move on.
They loved this idea and we ran with it in the creation of our work.

They really wanted to incorporate all the members of their senior class in the symbolism, so they decided to include things like their class flower and articles from the newspaper. They also decided to include the names of the entire senior class in the grass around the roots of the tree.  They invited every member of the senior class to add to the tree top, and we created circles for them to fill in with oil pastels and watercolor paint. 

We explored the concept of mixed media and they did everything from designing the work to creating painted papers to finding newspaper images to drawing to painting to collaging.  They worked collaboratively and regularly engaged in critical conversations to make sure that the work was progressing the way they wanted it to.  they were able to self-evaluate and to change course when things went awry. 
I was so impressed with their dedication to the project and their ability to work together to make something amazing.
I loved working with this group and am so excited by their final piece.

Creating in Community

Our Baker Elementary School Art Mural is Complete!
I had so much fun working on this community art mural at my son's elementary school.  It was the first time I took on such a large project (5 feet tall and 12 feet long!), and at times it was overwhelming, but I have to say the results made it all worthwhile.

I am most proud of this project because of the many ways we were able to make this a work by and for the students.

There were many steps in the process.

First, I got my partners on board.  The school principal was with me from the beginning.  She helped me get a grant from the Altoona Area School District and allowed me to partner with the art teacher, even giving her a regularly scheduled spot in her day for working with me and the Art Club.

Once we made our plan, we set a theme: Making Our Community a Better Place.

I was able to meet twice with each grade in the school--first to learn and brainstorm together, and second to create our images.
Each student painted a picture using watercolor resist, and created something specific based on a piece of our theme---some kids focused on taking care of our physical environment, some focused on using their talents and abilities to improve community, and others focused on STEAM: using Science Technology Engineering Arts or Mathematics to improve our community.


As a result, you will find in our mural beautiful nature, homes and communities, recycling bins, animals, solar panels, windmills, waterwheels, athletes, artists, playgrounds, ambulances, firetrucks, and of course many children working and playing together to make their community better.

You'll also find Altoona specific images: Baker Elementary School, the Curve, Mansion Park, Altoona Fire, Altoona Ambulance, sports teams, and the Altoona Public Library are all featured.









Once every image was created, we met with the Art Club, a dedicated group of 5th and 6th graders to plan our larger mural.

The Art Club helped find find images to use.
They cut out all of the pieces from the very large pile of paintings created by the more than 370 Baker students.  They divided the images into categories (people, animals, nature, buildings, technology) and colors.

The Art Club then helped plan out our mural by sketching out design options.  Once we had a design in mind, the art club painted our panels into a simple landscape.

We took the cut images and laid them out over the panels attempting to tell a story.
we moved them around until we had a working image, and then used mod podge to decoupage each piece down.

When we finished, we put down an epoxy resin seal coating so the mural will be beautiful and protected for many years to come!  

I think the most amazing part of this mural is the way that everyone was able to come together, that every student in the school has a something of theirs in this mural, and the way the whole can be so much greater than the sum of its parts.  It is truly a communal work of art!