BREWSTER – Three gold medals and one silver: Not bad for a group of Brewster School District fifth graders who returned home Friday after competing in the 43rd annual Olympics of Visual Arts that attracted hundreds of students to Saratoga Springs for the event that combined art and creative problem-solving.
Brewster’s champions were victorious in Architecture, Sculpture and Fashion, also taking the top prize for the Most Creative Design Challenge.
Art teacher Danielle Michielini, who tutors the students enrolled at the C.V. Starr Intermediate School, said, “Art can communicate information, shape everyday life, make a social statement or just be appreciated for its beauty. For C.V. Starr Olympics of Visual Arts students, art does all of these things.”
Michielini said her students were amazing. “We had so many different personalities, from boisterous to shy. I loved the way the groups worked cohesively.”
Jillian Kennedy excelled in the architecture competition. “We were originally drawn to this category because we like how it sparked our imagination. We created an underground dwelling built into a mountain. We built the structure out of wood and divided the rooms with cardboard. The mountain on top was made from chicken wire, paint and paper mâché and moss. Our home stood out because of all the details we added. For example, we crocheted the rug in the bathroom, created lists and mini artwork to put on the refrigerator, created trash for the trash cans and laundry on the laundry room floor. I think the judges were impressed with the detailed work.”
Adriana Vasquez explained her group’s fashion design based on spies and gadgetry from the movies. “We loved the Spanish color scheme with red and black and had a story that Monica was on a mission to steal a diamond from a villain. We saw her at a masquerade ball so we sewed a red and black dress and incorporated different textures and details–we even used the Cricut to create lace. We also gave her accessories to help her on her mission.”
Michielini commended all those for participating. “Our students really worked in two dimensions and transcended the materials. They created a pulley system, used pencils as supports, created playing cards using old cat and dog magazines and wrote out very detailed and clear instructions. They really thought outside the box.”
