June 4, 2010 @ 7:24 am
SmArt
Arts & Scraps, Detroit, MI (30)
Standing in front of a pool at the Holiday Inn North in Lexington anxiously awaiting information regarding the KESDA state speech tournament, a student from another school approached me. Her friend; a blue-eyed, blonde, young man, sent her to find my name. Completely mortified (and wearing a bathing suit and cover up-yes, I’m serious, I was about to take a quick dip before the judging began), I introduced myself, told from which school I hailed, and watched as she returned to a small group of people not too far away. Minutes later, that same friend walked toward me and told me all about who he was; hometown, middle school, competing categories and so on. To be quite honest, I kind of thought he was a dork. I was pretty dorky too, but this guy was a particular breed of dork and was really a lot to handle…a LOT to handle.
Throughout our high school careers however, we kept in touch. During the summer between my freshman and sophomore years in college, he called me. After that, we went on our first date, and now, ten years later, I’m still married to that same guy.
Obviously I’m not saying that involvement in the arts will eventually lead to a walk down the aisle, children with pig-tails and puppy dogs, and a happily ever after. I am however saying that exposure to different experiences surrounding the arts, promotes meeting new people, inspires creativity, builds confidence…all of which help us ask questions of ourselves, think about our choices, to determine the sorts of people we want to one day become and the people with whom we want to share our lives. So, at one point I was hoping to work with an organization that promoted our artistic abilities, and I knew just the one.
Arts and Scraps uses recycled industrial materials to teach children that through art, one can live free from boundaries, can visit worlds unknown to others, and can create perfection through paint, cotton balls, sequins and pipe cleaners. Research has shown that children educated by art classes become persistent, learn from their mistakes, make critical judgements when necessary and have the ability to support those judgements. With funding being sliced in half (if not completely) for the art programs in so many of our schools, this organization provides teachers the opportunity to introduce art into their curriculum with incredibly effective materials at wonderfully reasonable prices. Fantastic, so here.we.go!
In my home I always have what’s known as a junk drawer. I’m sure many of you know of what such a thing would consist…mainly junk, but in particular I’m a big fan of tossing in random buttons, batteries, paperclips, and so on. Knocking on the door, and walking into the Arts and Scraps room was literally just like walking into my junk drawer, but in a far more designer-fabulous way. From top to bottom, boxes of blue and black sparkles were stacked, while baskets of cassette tape reel (which I think I last saw sometime in the 80‘s) were scattered from table to table.
Much of what Arts and Scraps contributes is in the way of a kit compiled of different materials that will eventually create beautiful masterpieces. The workings of an airplane can be explained with sewing thread and puff paint, while photosynthesis can be illustrated with styrofoam and yarn. Learning becomes easy, fun and memorable. Today, I’d be focusing on life with gills and swimming from underwater castle to shipwreck, as I measured and cut cellophane for a fish bowl that later would be home to several construction paper critters. I looked around as I chop, chop, chopped away and really loved what I was seeing. They’d successfully found ways to make every piece of junk useful. Plastic Christmas holly represented seaweed quite well, while jewels told stories of wealthy kings and queens with giant gold crowns and sparkling shoes. Surrounded by that which once was destined for a junkyard, I noticed a decorated sign above. Hanging just above the door, “Reality is for those who lack imagination~ Author Unknown,” made me realize that too often my reality dictates my plans. I move from day to day organized, scheduled. Imagining seems but a luxury in comparison to the routine I frequently follow. The words reminded me of how important spontaneity, excitement and the unusual truly can be.
With boxes full of packaged sequins I’d just sealed, crossing the street and pulling the handle to the store door, I was immediately mesmerized at the sight just ahead. Colors radiated from every corner with massive buckets full of lids, compact discs, lush fabrics and golden bells. Ribbons streamed from one bucket to the next, while toilet paper rolls became rocket ships and vases. With nooks throughout cleverly named such as “Treasure Island,” the prizes were everywhere. Old baby dolls, pictures of someone’s memories, fake candies and tiny golden baskets were begging to become a part of the next big project.
For my task I would need to channel the creativeness inherently within me, as I would be developing a kit of my own. Already, there were flowers with large petals, masks with beady eyes, and long, hippie style headdresses with which I’m sure accompanied a wonderful lesson on 1960’s America. Creative isn’t really something I can just turn on. I mean com’ on, no one here claimed to be Mrs. Picasso. I’ve got to be in the mood to be creative. So in trying to evoke my creative side, I started thinking about what interested me now, possibly spanning the ages, bridging the gap between a first grade student and me. Then it hit in the form of a dot, dot, bubble. What had the power you ask? Wizard extraordinaire, Harry Potter no doubt. So I got to work creating all that is Harry, Hermione, and Ron Weasley. Deciding what most certainly defines the fab trio for me, a cape and wand would definitely be in the near future.
As I was choosing my materials, I began thinking about five year old me sewing (with a needle and a thread-no machine) a wizard costume for my doll, Molly. She had a cape and a pointed hat made from the same fabric; red cotton with stars of all sizes covering it. I thought I was some kind of fashion icon, and let’s just be honest here, we all know it was absolutely terrible. The stitches were a million miles apart, the cuts were jagged at best. It was really, just not good…much like the time I made soup for my mom and brother, Russ, out of water, pepper, some of those bouillon cubes and cabbage-look guys, we’ve got a regular Julia Child on our hands.
Anyway, I’d grabbed red material once again, this time with blue polka dots however. And as I walked up and down the bucket-lined aisles, foam cutouts, plastic tops, pink fabric, pipe cleaners and letters joined me. Standing above the random pieces, cutting and taping, sticking and measuring, slowly my cloak began to form. With my red and silver sparkled wand in hand, I gently touched shelf after shelf, pretending these are my fine pupils, congratulating them for a job well done. The process had landed me right back in my childhood, and oh, what great memories I have.
I’m absolutely giddy over the entire concept surrounding this organization. Not only are materials reused, materials that would have at one time congested a landfill somewhere, but they’re used to broaden horizons and free oneself from the mundane that often, is life. I’ve mentioned this before, but I can’t help but reiterate the importance of art, all forms of art, and what it can provide for us all. The songs, the photography, the poems, the paintings, the movies are much of what remains after we’re long gone. The scenes depicted in these creations are merely what prove our existence and the legacy we’ve chosen to leave behind. They’re signs of our time. They show the short skirts and the rolled jeans, the Warhol paintings that lead the pop art movement. These pieces draw the emotions, the disbelief of all Americans as we lost sisters and friends on September eleventh, and the way the world reacted when our first African American president was called to action. They tell of our accomplishments, our mistakes, the progress we’ve made, and the changes that should have stayed the same. They show as wars divide our country, and as a world comes together in the aftermath of a Haitian disaster.
Simply put, our lives are less important without the words, the music, the pictures…the art that pays tribute to them. Without these pieces, our memories, our stories would eventually disappear from existence. Artistic creativity frees the mind and the soul. It brings purpose when needed and gives perspective to lifestyles and cultures different from our own. It makes us laugh loudly, stand quietly with sadness, breathe heavily with anger, and leaves us completely bewildered. It encourages talking with one another, a sense of community, and a feeling of friendship and love. And who knows, at the end of the day, you may just find you’ve snagged yourself a husband.
