On Friday, April 30th, the B.F. Day Elementary School library hosted an art show that gave students, staff, families and the community a chance to see the collection of paintings and mixed-media work commissioned by Windermere Realty – and created by students.
The works largely represented local scenes and/or icons – the Fremont Bridge, the Fremont Troll, sailboats on Puget Sound, Safeco Field, the Pike Place Market sign, etc. While the largest canvas displayed the talent of a former B.F. Day student who now attends Hamilton Middle School, another work – of mixed-media – came from his brother, a first grader.
All but that one large painting – ‘The Space Needle On A Saturday Night’ – were created by first through fifth graders. More surprising was the team approach many of them used. The art teacher at B.F. Day, Julie Trout, encouraged her students to buddy-up, and the teams decided how they would divide the labor.
Two of the artists – Siena and Riley – decided together who would paint what, but they both confirmed that they shared the work of outlining their piece, entitled, ‘Fremont Bridge at Sunset.’
Jinji, who created a painting of an area of the Washington Park Arboretum with her friend Mercedes, pointed out on the canvas which part each painted, but she couldn’t recall a discussion about the division of labor – or disagreements over their art, either. According to Jinji, they painted what they saw in the picture, and she enjoyed having someone to share the work.
The commission for the paintings came in February, Trout recalled, which in addition to the regular classes, and art curriculum, gave Ms. Trout and her students very little time to get the works completed.
Yet, the projects offered an incredible opportunity for students to complete realistic, representative works of art, to get their work displayed publically, and to work together – in teams and in the larger framework of the project – while expressing their creativity.
The show ended with the arrival of representatives from Windermere come to collect the works. They will be displayed in the new offices, at 1920 N 34th St, and sold, eventually, with the proceeds raised returning to B.F. Day to support school programs.
To see further examples of exciting projects at B.F. Day, consider attending the Village, on Friday, May 20th, between 1p and 3p.
Also, check out more photos of the art collection on the Fremocentrist.com Facebook page.