Carolyn Cresswell – Art Teacher;
We have created a large art installation at W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind to honour our Canadian veterans and pay tribute to the 75th anniversary since the end of WWII.
We have created 75 wooden crosses bearing the names of Canadian soldiers and more than 1000 poppies are laying in the field outside the school.
The full display will be available to see from Tues Nov 10th through Sunday Nov 15th if you wish to drive through the campus.
Nov 6, 2020
Brantford, ON - It all started with a picture of a knitted poppy from Marisa Parker, educational coordinator at W. Ross Macdonald School for the blind. “We could do something with that”, replied art teacher, Carolyn Cresswell. “How many would you like?” asked Parker. “A thousand, I would like to see a thousand poppies. Let’s create Flanders Fields for the students!” “Then I better get back to my crocheting!” joked Parker as they realized that they had set themselves a goal to make Remembrance Day special in a year when organizing events presents many challenges. There would be no November 11th Assembly as in other years but there are many activities that are taking place differently in schools this year. The art teacher enjoys making large scale tactile art displays for the W Ross Macdonald students and this will be the largest to date at the last remaining school for the blind in the country. “We have to think experiential, to make things tangible and real for students who have no sight or who are partially sighted.” So what better way than to actually walkthrough a field where students can reach down and feel the crosses and poppies?
The ideas kept flowing from knitted poppies to ceramic flowers since the school has its own pottery studio and kiln in the facility. Clive Perry, the woodshop teacher, Rastik Kolesar, the outdoor education teacher and Nick Rollings, EA, joined the action by having the tech students create four foot highwhite crosses just like the ones Cresswell has witnessed in the cemeteries of France. “If we’re going to create a Remembrance Day art installation, let’s make it realistic and do it right!” And one idea led to another with the entire school pitching in from the high school art class, to deafblind students to the elementary classes. “Poppies started appearing at our display made of pop bottles, felt, paper, discarded plastic braille book covers and even broken goalballs – the unique blind sport using blue balls approximately the size of a basketball with little bells inside so that students can hear the balls during the game – and of course, a garland of knitted and crocheted poppies that started the whole idea! The neat thing about this school is that everyone works together and creates something within their ability and when we put it all together, it looks fantastic”, she declared.
This isn’t the first large project the art class has taken on. The cafeteria wall has a 400 square foot tribute to Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” with paintings, ceramic stars and weaving in what looks like an explosion of impressionist-style stars and sky.
“Many people wonder about visual art at a blind school, but the fact is that art is so much more than drawing and painting. We are teaching creativity and problem-solving, self-expression and finding their voice, appreciation of beauty and teamwork skills. We’re also creating memories with our students and building community,” said Cresswell. Even the teachers, EA’s and residence staff got involved when they needed to dig holes for 75 wooden crosses and place a thousand poppies between the crosses.
The group then added additional symbols after discussing soldiers of other religions and cultures including Aboriginal soldiers who fought for this country as well. Cresswell adds, “The extraordinary thing about this type of teaching is that we are discussing geography, history, religion and social studies while we have our hands in wet clay deciding how to proceed with the project.”
The students will walk through the field outside the school to feel the crosses which have names of real Canadian soldiers lost in WWII- some with ties to staff or students- added by Kathy Costa, Educational Assistant, to mark the 75th anniversary since WWII, after viewing an hour-long video with poems, music and historical stories, created collaboratively with the input of many staff and students- a virtual Remembrance Day Assembly!
The field in front of the school’s main entrance holds the 90 by 60 foot art installation, including a professionally made sign by Don Thompson, bearing the words of John McCrae’s famous poem and the inspiration for the artwork, “Flanders Fields” in one-inch letters and, of course, Braille.
“Our administration is very supportive of what some would call, ‘over-the-top’ projects and they love to see the school come together for these types of events,” Cresswell added.
If you would like to see “Flanders Fields”, the art installation will be available at the front of W Ross Macdonald School - 350 Brant Ave, Brantford until Sunday November 15th.
Copyright © 2021 St. George Legion
All Rights Reserved.
Contact Us at: 519-448-1462