Week 6: Olympic Art and Hanging Shows

During week six we worked on projects to celebrate the 2012 London Olympics. We had each student draw the Olympic rings, talked about the symbolic meaning of the rings, and had the students paint backgrounds after creating the rings. This also gave each class to talk about the Olympics, their favorite events, and how excited they were to see the USA win gold! This project also brought on a discussion about Special Olympics and which students participate. Many of the students soon began to draw Special Olympics drawings about the particular sport or event they participate in. It was nice to see how the students could relate the Olympics to their own experiences of winning medals. I was able to hear a sense of pride in the students voices as they talked about their Special Olympics art and the medals they have won. It was interesting to get to know the students outside of the art world. It's nice to know that so many of the students are able to participate in Special Olympics, especially since I have heard that some students who live in group homes aren't able to participate in many activities.

This week I also helped hang a show at the Amherst Dog Wash as part of the Town of Amherst's Art Walk.  We selected 10 works of art for this show, and another 6 works were hung at GoBerry, a frozen yogurt shop, in Northampton. At the dog wash, the pieces selected all focused on animals, birds, or other creatures to fit the theme of the dog wash. The Amherst Dog Wash is owned by a mother and her disabled son, so she was very supportive of Riverside Arts's mission of spreading creativity throughout the disabled community. I was able to go to the opening of the show, and for a small show in a local business we had a great turnout of 45 people! I loved seeing the local community, as well as Riverside supporters, come out to support the artists on display.