A Wonderful Welcome.

It’s wonderful to come back to New York after a month away on the road to find the mural project at Baruch Playground going full steam ahead. We are engaging not just kids from the community, but college students, parents, and many wonderful volunteers. As Michelle, our scholarship recipient told me, we are getting wonderful responses from the neighborhood. They say how beautiful it is already and how it changes the community. It’s good to see how the artists, our staff, and all the volunteers are working in concert to make a difference for all.

Mithra Birdie, our partner from Pakistan Pieces for Peace joined me to see the mural and was inspired to stay and paint. Here she is with me in the photos and volunteers from the Grand Street Settlement.

-Tsipi Ben-Haim, Executive and Artistic Director

Making Waves at CITYarts!

Water World

Last week, we finally started painting more detail. The train moving forward to the sky was almost completed. I helped Adam paint the reflection of the light and water on the top and bottom of the train. Since it required elaborateness, I had to concentrate on the lines and it took several hours to finish them. Jamie and other interns and volunteers added more underwater creatures on the bottom and painted them with gray and orange paints. Under the water, the seaweed is waving, the octopus is dancing and the sea turtle swimming peacefully. It is about fantasy, so the design doesn't have to be literal.
Each day we had a different group of young volunteers and Adam, Jamie and CITYarts interns had to watch the kids work safely and teach them how to paint. In such a hot day, the kids seemed to enjoy painting and being involved in this huge project. They kept asking us about the mural and tried to show their painting ability to each other.
As time goes by we can see more of the mural and it makes us more excited. I hope everybody enjoys painting and takes care of themselves on the scaffolding. :)

-Yuri, CITYarts Intern

A Start on the Sky

Last Thursday, CITYarts interns, a host of volunteers, Jamie, and Adam all continued making progress on the mural. The task set forth for the day was to begin work on the sky and the upper portion of the mural. What at first seemed to be a daunting task proved to a lot of fun for the artists and volunteers alike! Bright oranges, pinks, yellows, and reds had been chosen by the artists for the sky. After using so many different shades of blue for the expansive ocean below, it was a great change to be using warm colors to paint a beautiful sunset. While some of the interns and volunteers opted to use rollers to paint the larger, smooth parts of the sky, others chose to use the smaller brushes to paint around the clouds and apply paint to the cracks in the wall. Jamie and Adam were continuing to sketch in the clouds and other details on the mural as we began to paint. As the afternoon unfolded, we could start to feel the rain showers coming. We stopped painting for the day in order to give the paint layers that we had just applied to the wall enough time to dry before the weather turned. Nonetheless, we still made a great deal of progress for the day on the sky. I cannot wait to see how the sky turns out when we are finished! It is sure to look phenomenal! Last Thursday was my final visit to the wall during my summer internship at CITYarts. Working at the mural site and being able to actually take part in the process has been incredibley rewarding. Watching as the kids' ideas and sketches materialized--as Jamie and Adam brought their ideas to fruition has been amazing. I never thought such a such a neat, powerfully inspiring message could transform an old brick wall into a beautiful work of art. I have to admit that my first days spent at the wall were not the most exciting. We tediously scraped the old layers of paint of the wall, cleaned it, picked off shrubs, washed, and then later primed the wall. But once Jamie and Adam opened up the cans of paint, laid out the initial sketch, and gave us the go ahead, the energy and enthusiasm started flowing! Being able to apply bright brush strokes on the wall while surrounded by other enthusiastic volunteers made each day spent at the wall so enjoyable. It was always surprising at the end of each day, to climb down the scaffolding and walk 20 yards back from the wall to take it all in. The progress being made and the sense of teamwork that went into each part of the mural was admirable. Just by painting your individual section on your story of the scaffolding allowed you to contribute to the greater whole. Participating in this mural project proved to be a great experience!

Please keep checking back on the blog for updates about this exciting project!
Sally, CITYarts intern

Painting the Sea

June 18^th 2007

Baruch Place

Last week the first strokes of color paint were laid down on the wall in Baruch Place! And now things are really starting to move along. Painting an underwater scene, James and Adam chose a dark and stormy blue for the lower portion of the wall and a lighter shade of blue for the surface water. The vibrant color brought life to the wall and renewed vigor to the volunteers, who diligently worked through the eight or so gallons of colored paint in one day. Sea creatures drawn by volunteers began to populate the underwater scene. Octopuses, sea otters, jellyfish and sea turtles were whimsical additions. James motioned further additions of submarines and killer whales still to come. Seeing the animals that kids had drawn in the workshop materialize on the wall was a rewarding experience.

The past week brought new volunteers but more are still needed! Contact Christine Lu at CITYarts (212.966.0377). This week we start the sky!

Keep you updated:

Francesca – CITYarts Intern

Baruch Place Mural

July 18, 2007

We finished priming the wall late last week and by Friday the bottom half of the mural had been sketched by Jamie and Adam in order for us to begin painting. We spent the day sketching some underwater creatures and plant-life while also painting the ocean dark and light blue. It seemed like an easy task that I thought would only take us an hour or two but after rolling and painting the cracks of the wall meticulously we soon learned that the type of paint we were using required some patience. It was nice to see that once we took out the colors and started painting the people of the community, including a lot of kids, started to take notice of what we were doing asking questions and many even wanted to paint. Overall by the end of the day, our deep-blue sea looked almost real! As soon as it stops raining we’ll be moving on up…

Catie – CITYarts intern

Primework

After the scaffolding was installed, CITYarts interns, Michelle, the two artists and young enthusiastic volunteers started the prime work for the mural. Before we began to sketch and paint, we needed to smooth the rugged pieces and make the surface of the wall even. So we sanded the wall and then painted it white. 3 to 4 people as a team went to the each floor and worked on each part. Some used the rollers and the others used the brushes to paint where the roller couldn’t touch. It is such a huge wall and rough, it takes long time to finish the ground work. Once we painted the whole wall, we repainted it and retouched the cracks elaborately. Because of the hot weather, we sweat a lot and got tired easily. Therefore we have to drink enough water and take a rest every hour, while working on the mural. Remember!

Yuri, a CITYarts Intern