Arts Explosion: Picasso and Purple
Wall Before
On the evening of April 19th, Arts Explosion kicked off with a stroll through the second floor hallway, transformed into a gallery of student artwork. An elegant dinner of wraps, croissant sandwiches and pastries, generously donated by Whole Foods, followed. After dinner was the evening’s main event, a dramatic unveiling of the 50 ft Picasso inspired mural the students painted under Ms. Purple’s (aka Ms. Barnes) guidance.
Wall After!
Students have been studying Picasso since before last fall’s exhibit of his paintings at the Nasher and the new mural is the tangible culmination of that study, which required months of effort on the part of students, Ms. Purple, Mr. Rogers, staff and parents. It is a beautiful permanent addition to the school and has transformed a grey and dreary wall into a thing of beauty and pride (as evidenced by all the children leading family members by the hand to show them the section they worked on!). After much oohing and aahing, it was off to the gym where children worked on “make and take” crafts while adults attended the silent auction of Upper El artwork upstairs in the gallery. Finally, attendees were treated to another art form–a choral performance in the Media Center to cap off a wonderful evening of arts appreciation!
