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PAGE 6B BARROW JOURNAL WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2008 Arts integration program continued from page 5B Conning up in the community Last chance to fill an empty stocking He has a unique style. He paints and does marble and wood carving to make his frames. The frames and carvings are such intricate designs that they are half of the artwork. He uses a lot of S curves, polka dots, colors, angels, birds and rabbits.” “Mr. Roper said that all children know how to paint as he does until they’re taught not to,” Locke added. r Brittany Litke added ^ her thoughts: “Well, J my favorite artist we ■ studied was Danny 4 the Bucket Man from ■J Tennessee. He melts I buckets and makes 9 them into all sorts of faces and animals. He said he first discovered how to do bucket art from boredom!” Students Emmanuel Christie, Brandan Cowan and Emily Hamilton found Gayleen Aiken to be the most intriguing of the regional folk art ists they’d researched. “She not only paint ed,” Christie said, “but played the piano, organ, music box, and even the bongos and xylo phone! You might say she was a little touched in the head.” The students were fascinated by Aiken’s cardboard paintings. “She makes these ‘cousins’ out of card board, and signs every one of her paintings with descriptions of herself as ‘artist, musi cian, painter and, espe cially, camper, because COWAN she wanted everyone to know that she’s a camper,” Cowan said. “Aiken has little family, and when she was a child, she was lonely, so she made up these paint ed cardboard people and cats, which she calls her cousins. Later, she painted stories about them.” “Yes,” Hamilton added. “She dances with them. They all have names and go everywhere Gayleen goes. They even have their own cardboard house, which is haunted!” Cowan also enjoyed learning about metal artist Harold Rittenberg Jr., who recycles scrap metal into large sculp tures, benches and lawn art. “His metal horse looks real.” Cowan said excitedly, “It’s all welded, so the art takes a long time and is very hard work, but Mr. Rittenberg loves it.” All of the students were impressed by the drive and passion exhibited by each HAMILTON AND CLACK folk artist. Georgia Clack was drawn to the artwork of Purvis Young. “He paints on whatever he can find, and uses lots of squiggly lines and color,” Clack said. “He’s famous for painting on metal pieces. “Purvis Young said he became an artist from a dream he had in prison, where an angel came to him and told him to paint,” Alex Hentenaar added. “He uses symbols like a man on a horse to repre sent freedom.” HENTENAAR “Yes,” Clack agreed. “He says he paints the problems of the world, what he sees, to try to make the world a better place.” “Purvis Young said that art could kill you, because once he starts, all he wants to do is paint,” Christie chimed in. “I was fascinated by the pictures of the Quilts of Gee’s Bend, and the sto ries about the quilters themselves,” Brianna Riddick said. “My fam ily has a long history of quilting. My grand mother and aunt still quilt, but they mostly do it for fun. The ladies of Gee’s Bend quilted RIDDICK to keep their families warm, working on the quilts after they came in from working in the fields. “My grandmother and aunt use scraps of material they’ve bought or saved, but the Gee’s Bend quilters just used whatever they had or could find. One woman even quilted from old blue jeans. My aunt takes the scraps of cloth and sews them into a design and my grandmother embroiders the quilt. I couldn’t help but notice that the Gee’s Bend quilters had to quilt to keep their families warm, while my grandmother and aunts can quilt just for the joy of it and to bring our family joy.” Riddick’s comment about bring ing joy to others through art or crafts sparked a lively discussion of art versus function, and whether the two can be combined. I immediately thought of my father, weaving Native American designs into his brick masonry or my own grand mother taking care with every stitch of the quilts she made to keep our family warm. Hentenaar agreed that art and func tion could be easily combined: “Ruby Williams of Plant City, Fla., sold fruit on the side of the road. She started to paint signs to advertise, and placed them up the road from her fruit stand. People loved them so much that they stopped to buy fruit and the paint ings. Most of them aren’t for sale, but she paints scenes of the farm life she remembers. “She does have a really famous paint ing that she has painted over and over and sold many times. It’s a painting of a colorful bird. The painting is called ‘I Sing Because I’m Happy." Her work is very childlike. It looks like a second grader’s.” “Naive Art!” Cowan added. “Most of these artists didn’t paint until they’d had a life-changing event, such as depression, or they started to paint as they got older. Art seems to come in childhood and old age, when a person is free from care and stress.” “Yes, but most painters, and potters, too, use art to express their feelings,” Hentenaar said. Speaking of feelings, I asked the students how they felt about the arts integration process and if they saw any changes in their lives. “We are having a great time,” Locke concluded. “Since we’ve researched and learned about folk painters. I’ve started to notice the little things that make fife more special. The artists all notice and add detail that most of us might not even realize is there.” “I’ve learned to value patience and coordination more,” Riddick said. “The artists have to have that to get the detail. We all hurry so much. I mean, you think that if you mess up a painting you can just paint over it and start over, but some artists may not have the paint. And, potters can’t fix their mistakes easily, so they can’t mess up! I’m pay ing much better attention to what I do.” “You begin to see things in many different ways,” Jack Bryant said. “You begin to see art in different things.” I thought of clay shards in my father’s pockets, and the resulting history woven into brick, and had to agree. The Arts Dewlopment Council of Georgia is currently seeking a partnership with The Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta, to establish an arts integration pilot program to increase reading, science, math and social studies scores in a small rural school system. This is the last weekend that local firefighters will be collecting gifts for needy local children. Saturday, firefighters from Barrow County Fire and Emergency Services, along with members of the Barrow County Community Emergency Response Team, will accompany Santa and Sparky to two collection points in the fire depart ment’s Empty Stocking Toy Drive. Their first stop will be at from 9-11 a.m. at Holsenbeck Elementary. The last stop in the 2008 toy drive will be from 1-3 p.m. at Fire Station No. 5 in the County Line area at 1292 Hwy. 211 NW. Kids will be able to have their photos taken with Santa, Sparky and The public is invited to 106 West’s free annual Christmas show Saturday night featuring singers and instrumentalists who will per form traditional and contemporary Christmas music. “Christmas Show 2008” will begin at 7 p.m. in the 106 West performance venue at the corner of Athens and Beulah streets in Winder. Children 12 and under must be accompanied by their parents. Taking part this year for the first time will be classical pia nist Svetlana Ischenko; vocalist Cassandra Gabrell; classical guitarist the firefighters. Donors are asked to bring new, unwrapped toys or gifts for children through age 18. Toys and monetary donations also will be accepted at any Barrow County fire station. The annual toy drive helps the children at Peace Place as well as children served through Barrow County Holiday Connection. Nearly 800 families have applied for assis tance for almost 1,800 kids. “There are a lot of children in need right here in Barrow County, and every toy that is donated stays in Barrow County,” said Lt. Scott Dakin of the fire department. For more information, please call 770-307-2987. Ryan Moore; Native American flute player Keith Davis; singer Jennifer Nelson; guitarist Tyler Bramblett; bassist Chad Clark; young guitarists Dalton Locke and Kaitlyn Cha. Returning will be the vocal and instrumental duo Native Stone - Keith and Amanda Guy - on guitar and mandolin; guitarist and singer- songwriter Gary Scott; singing duo on guitar Cheyenne and Shauna Knight; singer Jenna Tollerson; and guitarist and 106 West Director Thom Tollerson. For details, call 770-868-1977 or visit www.106west.com. Realtors sponsoring The Athens Area Association of REALTORS (AAAR) is holding a Toy Drive through Tuesday, Dec. 16 to benefit Toys For Tots. New, unwrapped toys may be brought to the AAAR office locat ed at 1720 Meriweather Drive in Bogart. Toys for Tots drive The mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year. The U.S. Marines will distribute toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community. ACS offering luminaries, ornaments Luminaries will be placed at the Town Hall in Braselton New Year’s Eve in honor of those who have battled cancer. Sponsored by the Relay for Life in Barrow and Jackson Counties, the event will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 on Dec. 31. Proceeds will ben efit the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life teams in Jackson and Barrow counties. BARROW ORNAMENTS Supporters of the Relay for Life program in Barrow County may also purchase silver snowflake ornaments to give as a gift to those involved in the crusade against can cer. The ornaments can be per sonalized in honor or memory of individuals. Sponsored by the Relay for Life program in Barrow County, orna ments may be purchased for $5 each or $7 for a personalized version. Luminaries and ornaments may be purchased for $5 by contact ing Victoria Patrick, 1684 Barnett Shoals Rd., Athens, Ga. 30605. Free Christmas show ahead Dec. 13 Call us! Barrow Cab Company 770-867-5114 Hours of Service: Mon. - Thurs. • 5 a.m. -12 a.m. Fri. & Sat. • 5 a.m. - 3 a.m. Sunday • 6 a.m. -11 p.m. Enjoy Happy and Safe Holidaysl 258 E. Fifth Ave. • Winder, GA 30680 JSSj- T^ riday,1)ec ' 19 ' 12 Ration ’S'*** 71 f gJs>* 50680 Karen Murray Radiation Oncology Coordinator 14 years at ARMC As an Oncology Patient you have a choice for your radiation therapy. Make it the best. Make it Athens Regional. At Athens Regional, we have the most advanced and precise Radiation Therapy technology in the Athens area. In fact, no where else can treat your cancer with the kind of precision and comprehensive care that's available here. And now that we're also accepting patients covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield, Humana, Health Plan Select, Kaiser Permanente and Cigna, more of you have a choice than ever before. Choose precision, experience and technology. Choose Athens Regional. v l/r&Mju- CAM- /W/, www.armc.org