Art by kids lets grownups dream

Suzette Standring
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Art by kids decorates the Town of Milton, and I’ve been uplifted by the creative vision of children.  On Pleasant Street, giant pinwheels rollick in the wind, and smaller ones affixed to the chain link fence spin and whirl near the word  BREATHE in big green letters. I need that reminder.

Breathe

Fifteen art installations made by school children delight me and countless others.  It’s the 2016 Fourth Annual Art in the Windows sponsored by the Milton Art Center, this year funded by the Milton Woman’s Club. Installed on May 15, the exhibits will be on display until June 30, 2016.  Each exhibit inspires me to reconnect with my Inner Child.

This year’s theme is “Up in the Air” and kids came up with ideas that included quilted hot air balloons, pinwheels, buzzing bees, and colorful dresses for trees whose branches sway in the wind.  The installation, “Taking Flight Through the Storm,” on Canton Street near the First Congregational Church, displays rain clouds, with necklaces of droplet colors streaming to the ground in sparkles of blue, pink, and yellow.

Raincloud

“The overall message is to stay strong and positive through the storms of life,” said Joan Clifford, executive director of the Milton Art Center.

I’m certainly one to get caught up with politics and confusion that I forget storms have a unique beauty.  They cleanse and renew.  I’ve weathered the worst of storms, and I can do it again.  Breathe.

For something fanciful, on Edge Hill Road a row of trees are each wrapped in gaily painted landscaping tape.  The mixed patterns vary from geometric to abstract in bright hues, all hand-colored by children, ages 8-9. The project is called, “Tree Jubilee,” and a Facebook post read, “The trees are going to a party.”  Near the trees, I get caught in traffic, but I have to smile. They’re so festive.

Tree Jubilee

This year 188 kids in 15 teams were involved, compared to 166 kids in 11 teams last year, which include Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Brownie troops and a range of school age children. “We didn’t turn anyone away, and children participate for free,” said Clifford. A $6,000 grant from the Milton Woman’s Club allowed more kids to join.

Ideas by children came to fruition under the guidance of MAC art teachers.  It was hands on for the kids who brainstormed, created the art, and assisted with the 15 art installations throughout Milton.

Clifford said, “It’s all from the kids’ perspectives.  The kids are so enchanting.”

Be sure to enjoy each exhibit at the following locations:

Fireworks and Cityscape
Falconi Companies Parking Lot
4 Franklin Street

Dragonfly Rainbow
Fruit Center Marketplace
10 Bassett Street

Tiny Milton-Big Ideas
Roy G Biv
The Mason Bee Home Project
Recycled Sunflower
East Milton Square Deck
Adams St, Granite Ave, Edge Hill Road, Bryant Ave

Flower Fans
Milton Art Center
334 Edge Hill Road

Tree Jubilee
Edge Hill Road, center island

The CC&G Art Factory
Scenes of Milton from the air
Cunningham Park Fence
75 Edge Hill Road

Breathe
Cunningham School, Outdoor Garden Fence
44 Edge Hill Road

Reach for the Sky
Reading is in the Air
The Milton Public Library, Front Lawn and Children’s Room
476 Canton Ave.

Taking Flight Through the Storm
First Congregational Church
495 Canton Ave.

To the Clouds and Beyond
Town Hall Tree
525 Canton Ave.

Winged Friends at Turner’s Pond
Turner’s Pond
Central Ave
For more information about classes and events at the Milton Art Center, visit www.miltonartcenter.org

Comments

  1. I wish I could’ve gone to this! What a beautiful images you created, as I’m sure many of these creative children did too!