Second Grade is for the Birds!

The Mattress Factory Artist/School Partnership program pairs schools with a Mattress Factory-affiliated professional artist. Students then work directly with that artist to create original artwork for installation in their school. In addition, Mattress Factory Education Department staff travel to the school to provide an introduction to installation art through presentations, discussion and hands-on activities.

Currently, artist Tom Sarver (of the Tom Museum) is working with students from Wexford Elementary to create dozens of winged creatures made from cardboard and plaster gauze. The students' work will be permanently installed in the school's foyer. A feature about the project was published on YourNorthHills.com earlier this month:

Elementary students see art from a bird's eye view
by Kristy Locklin
May 8, 2008

Second grade is for the birds. Through a partnership with the Mattress Factory -- a museum of contemporary installation art on Pittsburgh's North Side -- students in two Wexford Elementary classrooms are using their ornithological knowledge to create a permanent masterpiece. By the end of May, the school's foyer will be filled with dozens of winged creatures hatched from cardboard, plaster gauze and paint.

"I really wanted to bring installation art to Wexford," says art teacher Barb Scheller. "This is a unique type of art and will be a new experience for our school." [ FULL STORY ]

Artist/School Partnership applications are now available for the 2008-2009 school year.
The application deadline is September 1, 2008.

[ DOWNLOAD APPLICATION ]

UPDATE: Some images of the final installation sent to us by Tom Sarver