I’m excited to share these wonderful Bishop Gibbons Art Program photos. They are amazing.

The assignement from Sue Silverstein to her senior art class was as simple as it is creative and stimulating.

Her students loved it from the beginning. She asked for help in asking blog readers to donate old, unused vintage clothing to the school.

The UPS And Fedex and USPS trucks started showing up right away. Clothes came from all over the country, including California, the Southwest, and the Midwest.

The trucks brought this beautiful cornucopia of hats, jackets, furs, shirts, pants, dressed, and scarves. pouring into Bishop Gibbons and Sue’s sprawling, booming art complex in the school’s basement.

The kids had never seen clothing like this before and scrambled to pick out what they wanted to use in their photos, some of the other kids, and some self-portraits.

Sue never wants anyone to buy these things; she wants to use recycled items waiting for rebirth and discovery. I buy the things that people don’t have or can’t send.

The results are lovely, touching, powerful, and evocative.

Above all, they are creative; Sue encourages her students to make their own choices and express themselves openly in their art. I’m going to the school Friday and am eager to talk to some of these kids in person and congratulate them individuality.

It is a privilege and eye-opener to see these children’s enthusiasm for making art, given some encouragement and a chance, and the quality of their work.

I’ve put some of the photos up here today. More will be coming. I posted them without comment; they speak for themselves.

At the bottom are three pine cone art pictures, another element of Sue’s program that has caught fire after a kind woman donated a massive box of cones. Sue seems to be able to turn almost any discarded material into art. \The pine cones came from Maryland.

Sue says she would welcome donations of wood, more pine cones (see pine cone art below), acrylic paint, and more vintage clothes, metal objects, and used toys. The address is Sue Silverstein, Bishop Gibbons High School, 2600 Albany Street, Schenectady, N.Y., 12304. And thank you.

None of this would have been possible without your generosity. Come and see what you have made possible.

 

 

Below are some examples of Pine Cone Art, a donation from a member of the Army Of Good. Sue would love wood and acrylic paint more if anybody has some lying around: Sue Silverstein, Bishop Gibbons High School 2600 Albany Street, Schenectady, N.Y., 12304.