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"Rising"- Our Community Art Project

 Rising….the title of our community art project. In embarking on this art project, I made a pledge to myself that I would not lose focus on the process and become too product oriented. The idea that started small became large and although I was excited and grateful for the opportunity to work with an accomplished artist, I really did not want to lose sight of the goal of the project; to create a unique, visually appealing, vibrant piece of art that involved our community and made a statement about our centre. And, happily, this is exactly how this project is shaping up!

Jeanette Lee, our resident artist, is truly amazing on all fronts. She is dedicated more then one could have imagined; her attention to detail is exemplary; her commitment to the student's ideas is solid and respectful; her ability to conceptualize the piece using their ideas and drawings is brilliant. Honestly, I could not have asked for a better fit to work with our Preschoolers, Out of School children, Youth and Older Adults.

Thus far the process has been wonderful. Jeanette has worked with each age group on several occasions and the children feel very comfortable with her. The preschoolers had the unique opportunity to see her sculptures and have made deep and meaningful connections to our community through this relationship. The older students have asked many questions- about materials, the process, and threw out lots of "how's" and "what "if's". The Youth group is a mix of many different students, some of whom did not really know each other prior to starting this project. I have watched as they have muddled their way through finding a common ground. They had to work together, making artistic decisions in some kind of democratic way. I am impressed by their ability to unionize their ideas despite their differences.

Each group worked in their own way to come up with their design to paint on their figure. I was concerned about our preschoolers- how could their ideas be represented? We had talked about painting shapes on the figure but what shapes? In our class, I decided to cut out an exact replica of the figure onto paper and see what shapes the children generated. Nicole drew the figures and the children worked in teams of four to design the figures, coming up with some very interesting free form shapes. Jess and Barbi's class decided to let each child draw a shape on a small piece of paper. We then gave all of these drawings to Jeanette and she transferred them to the steel figures by outlining them. When we showed the children the designs, they were elated to find 'their' shape! I am so pleased that there is a piece of each individual on these figures.

One of the four paper figures used to design shapes.

The Senior OSC kids worked with their leader, Carolyn, to design some 3D effects, including a staircase, block letter of OSC as well as some beautiful trees. The Youth threw out a wide range of  ideas, trying to pack in every deep feeling and thought about life that they have ever had. One young artist suggested they use gears, as a symbol of the inner workings of humans. This idea was accepted by all and soon became the launching board for some good discussions. They also decided to incorporate text and were tasked with each person finding one word or sentence that had meaning for them.

Designs done, ideas on steel, we were ready! This past week was greatly anticipated as we armed ourselves with paint and brushes! All the groups painted on the stainless steel figures, which are child sized figures of children going up the staircase. Jeanette had taken actual photos of children and parents climbing the stairs and transferred these images (silhouettes) to steel and had them laser cut. Very very cool! It was also the week the videographer, Michael Sider, came to document the project.

The Older Adults came to support our preschoolers- they talked with them, held their paint cans, encouraged them to stay in the lines and contributed a lovely positive energy. We are grateful for their help!

The figure from Jess and Barbi's class. These shapes were directly taken from their individual drawings.





The figure from our class. Oops, a minor dribble.



The children worked with great care and detail. I literally had to pull some of them away to give others a turn. 



The Senior OSC hard at work, concentrating on maintaining their specific patterns.

They dotted  each gear to make sure the colours are true to their original design. They decided on using metallics-they are absolutely stunning colours!



First coat complete. Next week they will do the second coat and then add the text.



I am excited to see the art take it's life as the project continues. I am feeling grateful to be part of a project that brings a diverse group of people together, working together to create something wonderful. Bridging gaps-age, cultural, ability… it all becomes unimportant as the collective takes precedence over the individual.

Emily









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