Murals, Masks & Multi-Cultural Art Prevail at Otis School
By Jamie Kostecki
Okay, so how awesome is Urban Gateways artist Judy Petacque? Not only is she a great teaching artist, but she also put together this super creative scrapbook documenting her residency with students at Otis School in West Town this spring!
Check out the Flickr album here.
Judy’s vision was to have all of the 6th and 7th grade students work on a mural together, but things didn’t quite go as originally planned (of course). Some students, for example, gave into the temptation of unseasonably warm weather and skipped to play outside.
BUT! In the end, art prevailed! About half of the students spent time with Judy brainstorming ideas for the mural, and the other half put their creativity to work by creating masks, musical instruments from recycled materials (go green!), Native American Button Blankets, and Mexican Headdresses.
Back to the mural. The kids decided that they wanted to include images that reflected the ethnicities of the students participating (Mexican, Puerto Rican, and African American). After hours of creative thinking, painting, and drawing, the young ones produced a truly stunning mural! The final product? TONS of colors, details, shapes, and lines. See for yourself!