By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
A Father’s Day art project combined a lesson in sustainability, some recycled materials, paper, paint, markers and a whole lot of love.
A week before the holiday, a group of children paid tribute to their fathers during an art workshop at Grass Roots Recycling to Reuse Network.
“Everything we do here is about recycling and reuse,” said Grass Roots founder David Nunn. The business takes items that people may no longer need, and then others make “cool stuff” out of them.
“These frames that will hold your finished artwork would have been thrown out by someone because they weren’t being used, but we collect them. And now you get to use them,” he said, integrating environmental values through the hands-on experience.
Eager to begin the art, the youths listened intently as artist Dan Navalta suggested, “Think about some memories that you have with your dad. That’s something to think about while creating your gift.”
For example, Navalta shared a memory of his father, who worked a lot and was always wearing a suit. “One morning, I was in his bedroom, and he took a running jump and flew onto the bed. I’d never seen him do that before. Then he told me to try,” he recalled with a smile. “We took turns running and jumping on the bed, kind of breaking the rules, but having a bit of fun.”
There are no rules to break when making art, co-leader Heidi Bisbee announced, as they got started with the abstract artwork that could include memories or things that reminded them of their fathers. Bisbee’s memory was listening to music while driving in the car with her father and being challenged to name the musical group to earn a dollar. “I could have been rich if I’d known any of the singers.”
Her memory prompted one of the boys to share that his father was a singer. “That’s a good thing to think about,” she responded.
The young artists used their creative freedom to include bits and pieces of their fathers.
Rio said he loves to play games with his dad. His picture included a drawing of his father, a boat, and, of course, “I added ‘Rio,’ which is my name,” he said innocently. “I just wanted to make something special for him.”
Annika said her picture was filled with pink (“my favorite color”) hearts. “This was supposed to be a heart, but when it didn’t work out, I made it me.”
Her favorite father memory relates to the family pets, which include three cats. But on that day, Annika was thinking ahead. They were going to pick up a new member of the family, a dog, which she was hoping would get along with the three cats.
Vivian, who loves art and has already attended other art camps and workshops this summer, was extremely thoughtful and focused on her dad’s artwork.
Within the white spaces on the paper, she meticulously added “a bunch of things” that reminded her of her dad and family. First was a dog, representing the family’s two golden retrievers. Also tucked into the painting were a donut (for obvious reasons), camouflage colors “because my dad likes to hunt,” and a campfire for all the family’s camping adventures.
“I see you’re putting (the word) ‘Dad’ on there,” Bisbee complimented Vivian. “That’s a really nice touch. I like how you were thinking of all those things while you were drawing. That’s a gift from the heart.”
Cruz picked out bold colors from his house to fill in the spaces on his artwork. The finished, framed masterpiece was a precious memento, but the bookmark he created said it all: “I love you Dad!”
