As an artist you always look for continuous projects that challenge you. The same goes for an art teacher looking for projects that challenge the students. A few years back, 7 to be exact I started the chair project at Wylie Prep. The point of this project was to give them a chair and let their creativity go wild. The rules of the assignment are no rules.
All year we collect the chairs from trash piles, families and most just show up sitting next the art studio door at Wylie Prep. We put out the need for chairs in our news letter and the magic just happens. I have never been short on chairs they seem to always turn up in the numbers we need. I store them on hooks at the top walls in the studio. When those hooks are full we fold up the metal chairs and the students sit in the donated wood chairs. The first year we started we needed 6 chairs this year we needed 68 chairs. The students look forward to this project every year. Even the younger kids get excited because they know I do it every year and soon they will be old enough to do it.
In January the second day back from the holiday all the chairs are sat on the front lawn of the school. Each chair has a number and a blank piece of tape for the name of the new owner. One by one the kids draw a number from the bucket and that is their chair. They can not trade with each other nor can they complain about their chair. The point is to create with what you are given to see beyond broken legs, scratches and ugly paint jobs. They are allowed to cut it up, make something other than a chair or just leave it as a chair. There is no limit to what they can do, but they must use at least 25% of their chair. That is the only rule they have to follow. In the past we have had chairs turned into speaker, tables, kids riding toy, swings and so much more. Some are returned as chairs but completely transformed into beautiful pieces of art.
The chairs go home in January and are returned in April just days before the spring art show. The excitement that day is over the top. Students and teachers alike parade through the art room to catch a view of the chairs and the creativity. We allow the kids to sell there chair at the art show and they get to keep the money. Most use the money to go to summer camp or vacation. Many chairs are sold and some keep their chairs but everyone looks forward to this project every year. I’m so excited for these kids to see what will become of these chairs. You will have to wait until April to see how amazing this project comes out. Waiting is half the fun of this chair project I have to wait and so do you. I hope that you have a Blue Happy blessed day! See you in April for and update on this blog.
