If you take a stroll up to the scond floor of the Kennedy Museum of Art this month you’ll see children’s drawings- contrary to the usual view of acquired pieces from developed artists. Hailing from New York City, Scribble Art Workshop partnered with Ohio University art students to create “Without Words: Bringing the Big Apple to Appalachia“. This collaboration transcends state boundaries to foster creativity in students from different artistic levels and is in Athens until March 8.
The unlikely groups first met a few years ago when College of Fine Arts professor John Sabraw and Scribble founder Sasha Schwartz, also a former student of Sabraw’s, reconnected and began to discuss ideas for a collaborative exchange.
The Metaphysics of Making, the first exchange, took place in December of 2012, said Kelly Baldwin, who participated in the first exhibition as an OU student and is now a visual artist-meets-educator at Scribble.
For the most recent collaboration, “Scribblers” sent OU artists a drawing that was then returned with a new layer of artistry added, a process that continued over the month of January to create what can be seen at OU’s art museum located in Linn Hall at The Ridges.
“Our students explored ways to use their artwork to communicate through images, symbols, and color,” said Baldwin. “They also focused on what it means to collaborate, and how their art could interact with and be influenced by the layers created by the OU artists.”
These paint pals plan to continue their relationship to unite artists, young and old, hoping to “work together to cultivate artists who are trained to effectively teach and work in our educational art studio,” said Baldwin.
Photo credit to Corey Lepitt
Lindsey Curnutte 