UPDATED: DEADLINE EXTENDED TO AUGUST 8
Hello Parents,
We are calling for your young artists to help!
Do your kids love to paint, draw, create art, and help a great cause at the same time? Do you need something worthwhile for them to do for a couple of hours this summer? If so, this project is for you.
The project your kids will be supporting with their time and talent is the Helena Miracle League. We are working hard to raise money to build a Miracle League baseball field near Joe Tucker Park in Helena.
I would encourage you to watch the very short video that comes up when you go to the Miracle League website, and show it to your young artists. Won’t that be exciting to have this in our own back yard?
Here’s what we need from you.
Sometime between now and the 4th of July, have your kids create artwork following the following guidelines. We will sign off for community service hours they spend doing this, and the kids will get the satisfaction of knowing they truly helped in a special way.
Theme: “Things You See at a Baseball Park”.
We want a child’s view of this! Baseball game themed art would be great, but there are so many other things that would also work beautifully—let your child choose something he or she is interested in. If your child wants to create baseball players and stick strictly to a sports theme, that is awesome… but it would be just as thrilling to have a vibrant butterfly picture. Or a dog (or Husky) romping around under a bright sun. A playground with a swing. Or a flower, or a tree, or a bird, or any nature scene. Or bees or ants or a bear eating a hot dog at a concession stand. Or a dinosaur wearing a baseball cap. Or a spaceship with HML (Helena Miracle League) on the side. You get the drift… this is a VERY loose theme. If your child believes this creation fits in with baseball, I’m going with their instinct. A picture of a choo-choo train could be delivering spectators to the field.
Goal of the Art
We want to convey a bright, happy mood with original artwork on paper.
Once we get the artwork in, we will be using it to create elaborate collages onto 30×40” cradled wooden art panels that will be auctioned off as part of our Bowling for a Miracle fundraiser on August 25. (Adults interested in bowling on a team? Contact us!) Because we will be putting the artwork through a wet process, we have a few guidelines we have to stick by.
Specifications:
Paper
- Size: Our top choice of size is 12”x18”; however, any size below that is ok (nothing larger, please). It does not have to be rectangular.
- Quality: Please avoid that lowest quality “dollar store” construction paper; we aren’t looking for expensive art paper, just a premium acid-free construction paper or cardstock, which will resist fading and will hold up to the collage process. Scrapbooking paper is fine. Everyday (20 lb) copy paper is a little too thin; higher weight or cardstock is fine. Posterboard thickness is starting to be a tad too much. Watercolor paper is ok because it is porous.
- Paper Color: No preference here; just please keep in mind we are looking for bold, visible finished pieces so your child’s art won’t get lost in the final product. (For example, while an oil pastel creation might pop beautifully on black paper, Tempera paint could soak so much into the black that you can barely see the art; in that case for painting you might choose white, light, or bright paper). Just use your judgement here, knowing we are looking for colorful finished pieces. It’s all about their art.
Art Medium:
Ideal: Acrylic paint, Tempera paint, most artists’ paints, oil pastels, highly pigmented crayons.
Also good: Watercolor paints (but please be bold! A delicate pastel watercolor will get lost on this particular project), permanent markers, colored pencils or crayons (again, please be extra bold with them).
Avoid: pencil/pen sketches, ALL washable markers, ALL chalk, coloring book pages, Crayola Magic paper, finger paints.
Embellishments:
While flat artwork is perfect for this project, a few of you may want to add some 3D embellishments to the artwork, and that will be awesome! We love dimension, and embellishments can sometimes really add a special touch of charm to our finished pieces. If your child wants to add something 3D, here goes. (For gluing, use regular white glue, such as Elmers, but not so much that it creates gigantic bumps.)
Good ideas: googly eyes, pipe cleaner antennae, tissue paper glued to paper to create texture (grass, sky, etc), torn paper shapes. Embellishments can be on your art or standalone, we need both (for example, clothespin butterflies).
Avoid: all food, anything more than a light spritz of glitter, felt, shaving cream, anything really chunky, bulky, or heavy, (such as big cotton balls, large popsicle sticks, or big sticks glued on for trees). Paper plates will work, but they tend to be too big for what we need—rule of thumb for paper plate art, colorful and no bigger than your hand.
Inspiration:
If your child needs a creative nudge, I can recommend an amazing website full of great inspiration and good directions called Deep Space Sparkle. It is geared towards art teachers, but it has saved many a parent from summertime boredom!
Be free! Be creative! Have fun!! And remember this is for a great cause!
Why are we doing this?
“Because every child deserves the chance to play baseball!”
Submitting Artwork
Bring the finished artwork to Arcara Residential’s real estate office in Old Town Helena, 771 2nd Street, between Roots and Dr. Aizenman. If the office is closed, leave the artwork in the Rubbermaid bin on the back porch along with this information:
Artist’s Name
Artist’s Age
Parent’s Name
Parent’s Contact Info (email or phone)
Any comments we need to know about the artwork; sometimes there is a story there!
We will be very proud to sign off on community service hours for any time spent creating this artwork.
Again, no artistic talent needed… this will be a Home Run if we get artwork created in the spirit of helping the Helena Miracle League.
We cannot wait to see what your artists come up with!!
THANK YOU!
Donna Arcara
205-529-5863, donna@arcarahomes.com
