SU day-care, local high school students collaborate with internationally known artists on wind-powered sculpture

SU day-care, local high school students collaborate with internationally known artists on wind-powered sculptureMay 30, 2006Matthew R. Snydermrsnyder@syr.edu

The 2005-06 school year has seen the launch of a unique partnership in the arts, which will have its public debut in Central New York this week. For several months, students from Central Technical and Vocational High School and Fowler High School have been working with young children at Syracuse University’s Early Education and Child Care Center (EECCC) and three internationally known artists to design an interactive, wind-powered sound sculpture for young children.

This Friday, June 2, from 3-5 p.m., a free, public celebration and exhibition of students’ work and artists’ designs will be held at The Warehouse’s Everson Arts Education Room, 350 W. Fayette St. On display will be:

• photographs of the process by which young children in the EECCC have explored complex ideas such as aerodynamics, simple machines and the design process;
• drawings and models of wind sculptures by EECCC students and students from Central Tech’s welding department;
• a large puppet of the wind made by EECCC students, based on their study of literary works that depict images of the wind;
• examples of students’ work with wheels, axles and “mechanimals,” or mechanical animals; and
• a design and model of a wind sculpture by the participating artists.

George Rhoads, sculptor; Rusty Keeler, landscape architect; and Deborah Dohne, sculptor and faculty member in SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, have been working with EECCC and high school students throughout the yearlong collaboration. All three have worked nationally and internationally, and have brought their expertise and insight into the process of exposing students to aesthetic expression.

The project is a collaboration of the EECCC and the Syracuse City School District. It is supported by one of two New York State Council on the Arts’ (NYSCA) Empire Partnership Grants awarded statewide last year. The grant, which offers students exposure to real-world problem solving requiring higher-level thinking skills, has been for the current school year’s design work, with plans to continue into the 2006-07 year for the fabrication process.

The EECCC offers a responsive, developmental full-day program to children ages infant to 5 years, whose families have a full-time affiliation with SU as students, faculty or staff members.