As and Artist-in-Residence, I have had the opportunity to work with a great school district and wonderful students! For a week, I worked with the entire fourth grade, painting a mural that covers a wall in the Matthew Paterson Elementary School, in Paterson, NY from 2003 until 2008. The first two murals followed their history classwork, while the third one was about travel in the Hudson Valley. The last mural completed in October 2008, was a history of the Paterson, NY area and included historic architecture, the town seal, the historic ride of Sybil Luddington, the more recent town hall, and the Great Swamp with a few of it's well known animals. The students helped me each day from the beginning of school to the end of the day in groups and by the end of the week, I have seen each student in fourth grade twice. It truly is a work of art that cannot be completed without them. Though I began sketching and finalize a drawing, they are the ones who brought it to fruition with my guidance. It was a fulfilling 5 days for all of us. It is such an amazing opportunity to work with them. I am hoping to be able to work with MPES and other school districts in the future.
History of Paterson, New York - 2008