Spring has sprung in Charleston, and you know what spring means.... it's ART SHOW TIME!! This past Tuesday, May 9, Ashley River Creative Arts had a school wide art show! That meant over 1,200 pieces of art (each child had one 2-D piece of work, and one 3-D piece) were on display for parents, teachers, and community members to view!
The theme for our art show was "A Night in Monet's Garden at Giverny", which of course meant, flowers, a pond, lily pads, weeping willows and even an arched bridge. The night was nothing short of magical, with an incredible turn out! My talented Community art members had been busy making flowers of all kinds, while Art Guild worked the night of the art show, either doing live paintings, caricatures, leading a "Make it Take it" interactive art table, and running a photo booth, The night would never have been possible without all the incredible parent volunteers who spent the entire day with me mounting and hanging all of the student art. I am so proud of each one of my students and the amazing job they have done all year long. What a night to celebrate the arts! You GUYS. My amazing art guild and community art students participated in one of the most rewarding, exciting, and beautiful projects I have ever been apart of. We named it "Project Sketch and Fetch" because that was our objective. To draw and paint an animal from a local shelter to help them be "fetched" up and adopted to a forever home.
There art countless benefits to creating art. Sometimes it's more for yourself, sometimes it's meant to be shared with others, and other times it can be used to do something positive and meaningful in the world. That was our goal in this community outreach project. Each one of my 30 art club students selected an animal from a local animal shelter in Charleston, either from Pet Helpers, or The Charleston Animal Society to be the star subject for their own painting. We focused on older dogs and cats that have been in the shelters the longest, because unlike puppies and kittens, older animals are the last to be adopted and they could use a little extra help in finding a "forever home". After each child selected their animal, they began sketching them out and then dividing their subjects into simplified sections for their painting. We used the amazingly talented artist Heather Galler, as our inspiration for the style of our paintings, and the students absolutely loved painting in fun bright colors and bold eye catching patterns! After months of painting their adoptable animals, we had an art show at Pet Helpers to bring in members of the community to see the art but more importantly, the animals! Each painting was available for sale, for a $25 minimum donation, and we are THRILLED to say that every single painting sold, raising almost $800 for Pet Helpers! I could not be more proud of my students for using their talents to do something positive in this world, and help out an innocent animal that doesn't have a voice of their own. Thank you to ABC News 4 for allowing me to come to your news station to help promote our event and of course all of the fabulous people at Pet Helpers for being such an amazing partner in this event. We are hoping for many more years of collaboration to come! |
AuthorHi! I am an elementary art teacher with 10 years of experience, showing off the amazing artwork that my students create on a daily basis. When I'm not teaching, you can find me doodling in my sketchbook, painting all the dogs in world, and kickin it with my hubby, baby boy and rescue pup, Maddie. Feel free to reach out and say hi! ArchivesCategories |