Community Projects

FirstNight 2002 (click here for more)

FirstNight 2002 was a family-oriented New Year’s Eve celebration held in downtown Spokane, WA. The evening-long celebration had many venues and many activities, including music, performance and art. The evening’s theme was “It’s About Time” and the organizers encouraged artists to consider incorporating the element of “time” in their projects.

Around The World At Longfellow (click here for more)

Around The World At Longfellow, a 4-foot square collage-quilt, was made by fifth and sixth graders at Longfellow Elementary (Spokane, WA) as an after-school project in October 2002. It was sponsored by 21st Century Community Learning Centers.

Rising Star

Rising Star is a 4’-square quilt created cooperatively with about-to-be sixth graders at Arlington Elementary School (Spokane, WA) in July 2002.

Diversity & Tolerance (click here for more)

Diversity-Tolerance, two murals created with Mead Middle School Options Class students on the bridge abutments at 4th Avenue and Sunset Highway in Spokane, WA, in June 2002. It was sponsored by the Spokane Arts Commission and the Spokane Transit Authority.

Stars & Stripes & Starlight (click here for more)

Stars & Stripes & Starlight, a triptych of collaged quilts
(each quilt 4’ x 4’) was created by fifth and sixth graders at Regal School in Spokane, WA as an after-school project in May 2002.
It was sponsored by 21st Century Community Learning Centers.

Butterflies At The Crossroads

Butterflies At The Crossroads, a 7-foot square collage-quilt, was made by fourth, fifth and sixth graders at Bemiss Elementary (Spokane, WA) as an after-school project in May 2002. It was sponsored by 21st Century Community Learning Centers.

The HUB!

The HUB! is an 8’-diameter sunburst created by fifth and sixth graders at Garfield Elementary School (Spokane, WA) as an after-school project in April 2002. Now displayed in the school’s cafeteria, it is affectionately known as “The Hubster.”

America The Beautiful (click here for more)

“America The Beautiful: A Commentary In Quilts” was a group show held at the Chase Gallery, Spokane City Hall, Spokane, WA, from April 2 to May 10, 2002. It was sponsored by the Spokane Arts Commission.

Diversity-Democracy (click here for more)

Commissioned by 21st Century Community Learning Centers’ HUB Coordinator Sam Magnuson, the Diversity-Democracy art project was a two-week long after-school project for Spokane Garry Middle School eighth graders.

Character Counts! (click here for more)

The Character Counts! Theme reinforced the school’s Character Counts! program which promotes TRRFCC (Terrific): Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Citizenship, Caring).

Earth Day 2001 (click here for more)

At ten a.m. on Sunday, April 22, 2001 an eight-foot wide by twelve-foot high "poem board" decorated with earthforms rose from the lawn in Riverfront Park's Lilac Bowl as part of this year's Earth Day celebration. Artist Rik Nelson and various post-consumer recyclables (shampoo bottles, soda cans, etc.) stood by as poets, clad in turquoise T-shirts and "poet" necklACE, begin to interact with festival goers.

HoopFest Haiku (click here for more)

HoopFest Haiku is an interactive poetry-basketball exhibit created especially for the Children's Museum of Spokane to use during HoopFest weekend 2001. Hoopfest is a 3-on-3 basketball tournament played in the streets of a 10-block square area in the heart of Spokane. Over 5,600 teams participate!

Bumbershoot Concrete (click here for more)

Seven-foot high poems made from cracker boxes, soda cans and shampoo bottles? That's "Bumbershoot Concrete," a series of performance art pieces created by Spokane artist Rik Nelson and local poets during the Bumbershoot arts festival at the Seattle Center over the 2001 Labor Day weekend.

M.E.A.D's Whirligig Park Community Involvement Project

M.E.A.D. is Mead’s alternative high school. In Spring 2002, M.E.A.D.’s environmental club The Radical Reusers, teachers and I brainstormed about creating a community park ("green spACE") and sculpture garden (whirligigs made from recycled materials) to upgrade the vacant lot adjoining the school’s storefront location. A tabletop display of the project was created for the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System’s Youth Environmental Fair and its presentation was judged Superior and awarded a cash prize. Development of this project is ongoing.

Cheney Recycling Center
Community Involvement Project (click here for more)

Created from February through April 2000 by Cheney School District students (third grade through seniors) and members of the Cheney Frayed Edges quilt group, the 5’ x 50’ multi-piece art installation was unveiled in May 2000.

This community involvement project was Cheney Recycling Center’s Year 2000 event and received coverage from Cheney Free Press, Spokesman-Review, The Local Planet, The Easterner, the Cheney School District newsletter, the Cheney Frayed Edges newsletter, the Washington State Quilters-Spokane newsletter, Fox 28-TV and KXLY-TV.

Sponsors were The Boeing Company, Cheney Free Press, and Safeway Food & Drug.

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