More good news for the Art Zone!

Last week, an article was published for the Society of American Mosaic Artists newsletter, Groutline, about my art program.  When I wrote it, it was still just getting started.  By the time it was released this past week, the program had grown (as chronicled in previous posts.)

Before I even opened my Groutline, I had a couple of emails asking how people could help.  And when I got to school yesterday, there were two boxes of donated materials waiting!  One was a very large box of glass tile from Patricia Bryant, and the other was a box of beads and ball chain ordered for us by Virginia Lucas.  When I brought out the boxes and explained to the students that people around the country are sending donations for the program, their jaws dropped.  I think the fact that there are people out there who care enough to contribute makes them feel valued, and more committed to the program.

I also had the pleasure of announcing that the students and I will show our work together at Hot Toddy as part of Olympia's Spring ArtsWalk festival.  And my husband will be entering some of their work into a school district art show.  They plan to create work for sale to raise funds for the Choice Cat Club.  We are going to start working on stepping stones and plant pots for spring.

We have a lot of clear and nearly clear glass, so many of the students add images under glass.  This is WA State with Bruce Lee (buried here).  Donnell has a stylized signature, which is the symbol on the left.  If you look closely, he also has a little Seattle skyline in the upper left.

I'm also working on organizing a field trip to tour the Spectrum Glass Factory and visit the Museum of Glass in Tacoma.  All of these things are very exciting.  The district is impressed with the level of participation in the program, and have found some funds for me to use.  I'll be using these for the field trip, to purchase some bright glass colors from a local glass company, and I have a district Home Depot card that I'm going to use today to buy grout, sponges, hanging hardware, a little broom, buckets, and all of those other little things we have been doing without.

It is so exciting and heartwarming to see my students getting this kind of support.  My position is funded by a grant through the McKinney-Vento Act, which serves home-insecure teens.  Many of the kids who participate qualify under the guidelines of the act, but it is open to everyone.  Most of the students at Choice High School are there because they don't fit in at a traditional school, and can be described as "at-risk youth."  They each have faced, and are facing, major obstacles.  This program goes a long way toward empowering and supporting these young people, and gives them new tools to cope with difficult situations.

Thanks, Everyone!