Sunny Hollow Montessori is an independent pre-k to elementary Montessori school located in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul that has served children in the Twin Cities for 30 years. Following the philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori as set forth by the Association Montessori Internationale, Sunny Hollow’s mission is to “cultivate each child’s intellectual and creative potential. appreciation of relationships in nature and society, and sense of individual responsibility.”
At this year’s Grand Old Day event, Sunny Hollow Montessori organized a community art project for attendees of the daylong celebration. Born out of a desire to connect different members of the community through the creative process, we chose an artistic medium that all ages could enjoy – a simple collage format with fractal images paintied onto 4′ x 4′ prepared boards. Participants then chose fabrics, papers and other materials to place and glue to the image.
Working with young artists, we knew that the project would be lively and dynamic. A pattern based on our design might emerge, or many different and unique patterns might be combined. That is the beauty of a community project. Just like a neighborhood or a community where the members look, move, contribute, organize and express intention in vastly different ways to achieve an end, the children followed their individual artistic spirit to complete the project. The resulting artwork from Grand Old Day reflects these differences.
