There's a Philly public school 2 blocks from the gallery and even before I opened I thought to myself "It's a school for the arts. I want to work with them somehow". I think I randomly emailed the principle or I saw her outside and ran over to her and introduced myself.
Side bar: Ask for what you want. I've gotten really far within the last few years by just asking for what I wanted. TRY IT
Anyway, Principle Scioli and I didn't know how we would work together but we both kept each other in mind. Fast forward to the beginning of the 2023 school year ... unfortunately a group of "haters" (we shall call them) slapped white lives matters stickers all around the school for the kids to see ... it's a predominantly black school so the stickers were put there intentionally. The kids were really upset about it so Principle Scioli and a 4th grader, Odessa, came up with idea for the kids to write positive messages with chalk in front of the school! It had such a positive impact on how the kids felt that we decided to continue it by creating peace paver path around the school!
Every Wednesday the art teacher Mr. Tietz and I sit with students of each grade and we create art on cement pavers. They are 16x16 square pavers that we'll place along the walk way on both sides of the main steps as you enter the school building.
predominantly
We meet for about 30 minutes every Wednesday. Starting with 8th grade, select students who were interested in the project, come down to the art room with us. We have each grade for about 2-3 weeks with the first Wednesday being the day we talk about idea and start sketching on paper. The next 1-2 Wednesdays they put their work on the cement with chalk. Mr. Tietz and I use a sealer after the kids leave so the chalk stays on the cement.
We've worked with 8th, 7th, 6th, 5th, 4th and now 3rd graders. We plan on completing the project by the end of the school year so stay tuned for the completed photos and celebration!
Thanks so much for reading
Jonene
xoxo
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