It’s beautiful! Worth every minute! Thank you so much for sharing this experience. The kids, their parents, teachers, the whole school must be so proud of what they accomplished : ) You turned a call on professional artists into a collaborative effort. The whole project is a work of art.
This is lovely - my nibling goes to Arbor and I'm sure they are so proud to have been a part of this! If you ever want to collaborate with an amazing Title 1 public school in Portland with a social justice focus, please reach out! It's a super special place that really deserves beauty like this.
Vestal ES in NE Portland. It’s a really special school with an amazing mission, staff, and community - my kiddo is finishing up their kindergarten year ❤️
Love this story, and what a gorgeous end result! As a freelancer with two mostly grown kids (17&20), I am JUST NOW reconciling the PTSD I have about managing my workload and summertime. I didn't really understand why the onset of summer made me feel so stressed out. Like you, it was time to re-examine those feelings, and realize they were the result of when the kids were much younger and summer meant being pulled in all the directions and sitting begrudgingly at my computer in the lovely summer evenings so I could get done what I hadn't been able to finish during the days when I was inevitably making snacks, turning the hose on and off, dropping off and picking up from camps etc. Thanks for sharing your process and experiences as a working artist.
The mural is lovely! Barn quilts are awesome, it’s a perfect collaborative project. I completely understand the urge to be protective of alone time with little kids! And also the realization that might be holdover as they grow. I still have young kids (but not babies), and now that school’s out and it’s our first summer without a kid that naps I’ve had to reevaluate the ways to use our time that don’t drain me too much. A big part of that realization is that I don’t have to use my alone time to work now…they play together now and it blows my mind.
It's brilliant. Every kid in the school has a buddy. Older kids are paired with younger kids - kindergartners paired with 8th graders, 1st graders with 7th graders, etc. The only kids without buddies are 4th graders because there are 9 grades and they are smack in the middle of their k-8 years. In 5th grade they transition from being someone's younger buddy to being someone's older buddy. Then each buddy pair gets grouped with a few more (and a 4th grader) to make a family. Buddy families sit together at assemblies and meet up regularly to do activities and work on projects.
Thanks for taking the time to share this with me! Gosh it sounds like a beautiful way for students and their families to stay interconnected and give meaningful support. Love that.
Not me welling up in an Uber ride reading about this incredible mural/project 😭😭😭
❤️
Mural painting always seems like magic to me. Now even moreso.
That video made me cry!
It makes me cry too.
so beautiful, and the vid!!!!!!
I was wondering about this project...
Your writing is lovely, Carson. What a beautiful project!
This is so wonderful. It reminds me of some words I think Thomas Merton wrote:
“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”
I'm grateful that you shared the experience.
It’s beautiful! Worth every minute! Thank you so much for sharing this experience. The kids, their parents, teachers, the whole school must be so proud of what they accomplished : ) You turned a call on professional artists into a collaborative effort. The whole project is a work of art.
This is lovely - my nibling goes to Arbor and I'm sure they are so proud to have been a part of this! If you ever want to collaborate with an amazing Title 1 public school in Portland with a social justice focus, please reach out! It's a super special place that really deserves beauty like this.
Aw. I'm, glad. 🙌
I'd love to hear more about the Title 1 school. Which one is it?
Vestal ES in NE Portland. It’s a really special school with an amazing mission, staff, and community - my kiddo is finishing up their kindergarten year ❤️
So beautiful - the process and the art! Thank you for sharing.
A beautiful collaboration. Thank you for sharing.
Love this story, and what a gorgeous end result! As a freelancer with two mostly grown kids (17&20), I am JUST NOW reconciling the PTSD I have about managing my workload and summertime. I didn't really understand why the onset of summer made me feel so stressed out. Like you, it was time to re-examine those feelings, and realize they were the result of when the kids were much younger and summer meant being pulled in all the directions and sitting begrudgingly at my computer in the lovely summer evenings so I could get done what I hadn't been able to finish during the days when I was inevitably making snacks, turning the hose on and off, dropping off and picking up from camps etc. Thanks for sharing your process and experiences as a working artist.
Ha ha. Yes. I feel like everyone around me is happily preparing for summer and as usual I am STEELING MYSELF.
That is exactly the feeling! <3 Styrke til Armene! (strength to your arms) ... support from the Norwegian ancestors. :-)
This absolutely made my Tuesday, what a lovely project and brought back so many memories of big collaborative school art projects! Thank you!
The mural is lovely! Barn quilts are awesome, it’s a perfect collaborative project. I completely understand the urge to be protective of alone time with little kids! And also the realization that might be holdover as they grow. I still have young kids (but not babies), and now that school’s out and it’s our first summer without a kid that naps I’ve had to reevaluate the ways to use our time that don’t drain me too much. A big part of that realization is that I don’t have to use my alone time to work now…they play together now and it blows my mind.
This turned out so beautifully!
Thanks!
How delightful—a whole school working together to create beauty for all to enjoy. 🥹
Also, I’ve never heard of the concept of “buddy families” at school and I’m wholly intrigued!
It's brilliant. Every kid in the school has a buddy. Older kids are paired with younger kids - kindergartners paired with 8th graders, 1st graders with 7th graders, etc. The only kids without buddies are 4th graders because there are 9 grades and they are smack in the middle of their k-8 years. In 5th grade they transition from being someone's younger buddy to being someone's older buddy. Then each buddy pair gets grouped with a few more (and a 4th grader) to make a family. Buddy families sit together at assemblies and meet up regularly to do activities and work on projects.
Thanks for taking the time to share this with me! Gosh it sounds like a beautiful way for students and their families to stay interconnected and give meaningful support. Love that.