Something to celebrate on a gloomy day in a storm. Sue Silverstein’s legions are having an art riot in response to two challenges: a photo contest featuring vintage clothing (minks arrived today from Illinois) and non-gory or bloody staged death scenes as part of the upcoming photography contest. The basement is wild, but the students are happy and deeply engaged. And grateful.
(P.S. Sue desperately needs pieces of flat wood small enough to paint on, the art students have gone mad with wood painting, and Sue is even taken to crawling around the woods looking for some with little success. If you can help, please send wood to Sue Silverstein, Bishop Gibbons High School, 2600 Schenectady, N.Y., 12304. And Thanks)
I hope I’m up to judging the photo contest; it should be wild. There’s a long list of students waiting to try on those minks, a long list waiting to take pictures of them. Wood painting has also taken off.
Rosemary, who sent the mink stoles, told Sue that the fur collars date back to 1940 and belonged to her grandmother. If anyone has other distinctive vintage clothes, please send them to the above address.
I doubt any living person at Bishop Gibbons, let alone a child, has ever laid eyes on mink stoles; I haven’t.
Sue said the kids were shocked but lined up to take photos of one another wearing them. The photo contest begins formally next week, and I plan to be there if we can have one week without a snowstorm.
The kids are also having a blast staging and photographing crime scenes as part of the art project. Sue said no gory or bloody scenes would be permitted. One girl murdered a lousy guy with pudding; a Teddy Bear was run over by a toy truck.
You’ve done a tremendous and joyous thing by allowing these children to follow their dreams and light the creative sparks in all of them. Sue has created something better than TikTok and Instagram, especially during class hours.
I hope we can get her some flat pieces of wood; she sounds desperate: Sue Silverstein, Bishop Gibbons High School, 2600 Albany Street, Schenectady, N.Y., 12304.
Since Sue’s class needs wood to paint on, how about asking to supply them with thin plywood sheets that are available at home improvement centers? The 4′ x 8′ sheets can be cut down to any size the students need by the shop class, if there still is such a thing.
Holly, thanks for the suggestion and for caring. Sue isn’t seeking plywood; she and the students want wood to paint on for various creative reasons. She hopes people will send her discarded or abandoned wood; she prefers that to people buying it.The art program is all about recycled objects.
If people don’t have any wood and wish to buy some for her and her class, it is simple and inexpensive
https://www.amazon.com/Falling-Art-Studio-Painting-Panels/dp/B0834LT7T2/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=2DH98DGSZJ6N&keywords=wood+canvas+boards+for+painting&qid=1678821036&sprefix=wood+canv%2Caps%2C117&sr=8-3-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFVSlpVR0ZCSE5ERU0mZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAwMTY1ODIxQVdaMkpDMFRaVFFDJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA0MTEzOTAxUk5YSjZMTE9EN1ZWJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
The shipping address is Sue Silverstein, Bishoop Gibbons High School, 2600 Alban Street, Schenectady, New York, 12304. thanks
How well I remember sitting in church and looking at the lady seated in front of me with the little minks clipped together. My how times have changed!
It looks like small pieces of wood for crafting is available cheaply at Amazon: 3×3 for 120 pcs or 4×6 for 100 pcs
https://www.amazon.com/HOIGON-Rectangle-Unfinished-Basswood-Painting/dp/B094YC26KJ
Thanks, Nancy; I bought some of those… a good spot..I should say that Sue prefers that people send her discarded or abandoned things; she doesn’t want us to buy them unless it’s necessary..I get some donations for the refugees and I use that money to supplement her art supplies when I can. But her idea is that people send used things, and she and the kids recycle them. So far, people have had no trouble sending used things for the classes art supplies.
I want to go to that high school! Do they have a seniors program? Seriously, what a wonderful art class. Those 83 year old minks are in beautiful condition. I haven’t seen one in many years.
Oh, that mink stole brought back some memories. I’m nearing the age of 72, and I vividly remember days sitting in church as a child. The pews were assigned in our church, so we always had the same older woman who sat in front of my sister and me…with our grandmother. This woman had a collection of animal stoles, but I remember most vividly her fox stole. That fox’s eyes would stare at Diane and me throughout the entire sermon, and I don’t think we ever heard anything the minister would say as we were so freaked out by the fact that someone was wearing a dead animal. Phew…days long gone by and sadly, so is that sister, but she’d love to know I was telling this story!
Ken got to thinking again and remembered when we had a lumber yard nearby, they had a scrap bin to take what you wanted. We were wondering if any of your local lumber yards would donate.. I googled near Cambridge.. I’ll email Sue with the idea. Maybe you could do that.
Places Near Cambridge, NY with Lumber Yard
Shushan (8 miles)
Eagle Bridge (9 miles)
Buskirk (9 miles)
North Hoosick (12 miles)
Greenwich (14 miles)
Middle Falls (14 miles)
Hoosick Falls (14 miles)
Sue is looking for wood in peoples homes, attics and garages. She doesn’t look to buy these art supplies they are donated. She isn’t asking people to spend money thanks so much for thinking of them
I expected that mink to come out of the box and bite someone.
My mom had one of those mink stoles. I remember being fascinated and appalled at the same time. This was a whole animal. Gross and fascinating at the same time. Not to mention the coats.