August 31, 2005
Kids down on the Urban Art Farm
Students painted, hiked and gardened at week-long class
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Down on the Urban Art Farm last week, the skies were sunny (mostly) and the kids gardened, hiked and romped, painted and learned - thoroughly enjoying themselves.
For three hours a day, a shady spot under a maple tree was the headquarters of the day camp. Children gathered around a sunflower tablecloth to share about gardening and their lives, learn bird calls and complete garden-related projects. Led by Penny Krebiehl, founder and director of Little Artshram, which is based in Empire, the week brought ten children ages 6-13 to the grounds of the Grand Traverse Commons.
Krebiehl planted a small garden among the community gardens located on the property in early August. She planted squash, sunflowers, beans, herbs and other plants for the kids to care for and learn from. Participants painted plant names on stakes to place among the plants, weeded and observed.
The students also created a puppet blue bird from cardboard, wire, sticks, bright paint and fabrics. They also decorated a journal cover and could use the journal to record their experiences on the farm, draw or write down other ideas about the farm.
Merging art, gardening and birds is a natural synthesis to Krebiehl, who created Little Artshram four years ago. Her mission is to use art, theater, puppet-making, story telling, drumming and song - among other things - to educate and inspire, especially in the realm of environmental issues.
"Making art, to me, is like growing a garden and like have a farm because you create something out of nothing," she said. "The cycle of gardening is like art to me, it's a very amazing thing to watch that process."
Throughout the week, the students learned that nature is part of art and art is part of nature.
"Some bird are colorful like a garden, like a bird called a painted bunting - it's like a rainbow," said Jacob Poirier, 11.
"Not only do birds spread the seeds, but they eat the bugs," chimed in Luthien Irvin, 6.
Poirier, who attended the Urban Art Farm with his brother, Carson, 7, enjoyed the varied activities of the week.
"It's fun we get to do a lot of painting and art and I like to go on hikes," he said.
Krebiehl encouraged them to use their "artists' imagination" as they worked on projects, tapping their own instincts and preferences.
"I imagine myself as part of the world, not just the human world," Krebiehl told her students as they prepared to paint and decorate their bird heads, which she termed scare birds. "Making scare birds wouldn't necessarily mean scaring birds away but be a tribute to the birds, an artist's rendering."
The Urban Art Farm was a partnership with Krebiehl and Rolling Centuries Farm. A multi-jurisdictional Recreational Authority owns the 56-acre property, thanks to a millage passed last November. This group will determine its future use, noted Dan Tholen, a community activist working on Grand Traverse Commons issues for a dozen years.
Proponents of the Rolling Centuries Farm concept would bring a working farm to the property for educational and other uses. An Urban Art Farm could be one component of that idea.
"What I see is that there may or may not be an interest in this, but we have 9-10 schools within less than a mile of this property," said Tholen.