Sissy Manoonoo: the Finale

Team Tiny Town. We <3 the couch!!!

Bridget, here.

I don't see myself as an "art teacher" in general - those words seem sort of oxymoronic in the context of working with children. I'm more of a "creativity supporter". This week, especially. My crew of 13 campers was a powerhouse of creativity mixed with enthusiasm for collaboration - I basically set the stage, helped keep them on track and organized, and stood back until called upon for a hand. Oh yeah - and I intermittently doled out all kinds of cool odds and ends for the artists to use, as rewards for being awesome. 

I've never had to say the words, "guys, we only have an hour left," to students before this week!
After circling up at 9am and jotting down a game plan/delegating roles, these artists jumped to it and didn't stop working until it was time to clean up. Super-motivated to see their latest vision through, they only stopped when someone called for a vote (any major construction or placement needed to be decided by a majority) or needed a hand with something of their own.
I truly believe the level of pride and the intense motivation wouldn't have been there had I intervened beyond offering structure, prompts, materials, and technical support. Look at what happens when the rest is left up to the young artists!

Sorting tiny photos of tiny town.

Today we tied up loose ends, created signs and chose roles for the presentation for families, and created tiny keepsake books of pictures of SissyManoonoo. I took tons of close-up photos and printed them 2"x3" last night. Click here to see the pictures!* We created accordian style books to paste them into, with covers that could be tied shut. Lots of campers had everyone sign their book, "since it's all of our work."That definitely made the extra work worth it! The group agreed "not to tear [tiny town] apart"to take home pieces they made - at least not until it's been on view for a while!

Afterwards we had a rather formal presentation (we did a "run through" first), which included background information on the Sissymanoonoo community and a tour of the town's features.

All are welcome to view teensy tiny SissyManoonoo at Waterfall Arts (256 High Street, Belfast, Maine) through August 1!

SLIDE SHOW of our town:
http://www.photosnack.com/9C8A5D97C6F/pdh3g853

*note: give the slideshow a minute to load!