With a talented group of youth and instructors, MMAP has brought GAP back to East Palo Alto! The 2010-2011 Graffiti Arts Program includes students from all over San Mateo County. Youth representing East Palo Alto Academy High School, Cesar Chavez Academy, Willow Oaks, Costano, 49er’s Academy, Menlo Atherton High School, and Carlmont High School have been meeting on Tuesday evenings @ EPAA High to participate. All participants earn community service hours and have pledged to use Graffiti as a positive art form and to keep their drawings to their sketchbooks!
GAP Teen Instructor Zaid Vargas assists Javier and Oscar with adding 3D and perspective to their first pieces.
Brandon and Dulce of Carlmont High School choose to add bright colors as part of the fill in.
On Friday, HEArt students at Starr King transformed into focused seamsters and seamstresses as they learned how to sew pillows and bean bags. They had a great time choosing their fabrics – the checkers and red skull print were the big hits! Next week, the students will continue practicing threading their needles, sewing their seams, and tying the knots on their projects.
The garden mural at Costano comes to life with the opposite color layer. With just a couple weeks of painting left, the students are enjoying the sunshine and painting away. Our two wonderful Teen Art Instructors, Troy and Zaid, help guide students through the mural process.
A defining element of our mural painting class at Chavez is the amazing leadership of our Teen Art Instructors. Viri (EPA Academy, sophomore) and Monica (Carlmont High School, junior), a dynamic duo who happen to be sisters, use their knowledge and skills gained from last summer’s Teen Mural Program to guide Chavez middle-schoolers through the painting process. Viri has been hard at work teaching blending skills on the flames and Monica has been working with students to paint the ivy vines. Pictured below, these two high school students are exemplary role models who embody MMAP’s spirit of creativity and positivity!
On Friday, Starr King students learned the ancient art of “Shui-muo ha,” Chinese ink painting. Students practiced their strokes using special brushes and paper, and copied Chinese symbols for “love,” “peace,” and “happiness.” Influenced by zen, we focused on simplicity and clarity in the paintings. The students mounted their drawings on construction paper collages, our HEArt interpretation of the more traditional hanging scrolls.
It’s hard to believe that we have only one month left before summer! Please join us for a mural unveiling celebrating our students’ and teens’ hard work this year: June 2nd 4:30-6:00pm. With two weeks of painting down and only three more to go, the students are focused on bringing beauty and positivity to the 8th grade corridor.
The Mural Music & Arts Project in collaboration with Silicon Valley Community Foundation is proud to announce the winners of the Westmor High School Census Art Contest:
The Mural Music & Arts Project in collaboration with Silicon Valley Community Foundation is proud to announce the winners of The Carlmont High School Census Art Contest:
Kristen Willsher
TRADITIONAL/VISUAL ARTS
First Place – Kristen Willsher
Second Place – Caroline Liu
Third Place – Cynthia Meza
WRITTEN POETRY
First Place – Denise Chan
Second Place – Melissa Loi
First Place – Aaron Boussina
One is All
By Denise Chan
Ten years seem long but pass by so quickly that
It makes you wonder if you will be remembered.
In history we’re like a speck of dust
But dust specks make the bigger picture
The one we’re all part of.
The sky above is the
Same you see anywhere.
Everyone can’t be
Made without
One.
Brandon Melgar Escalante
GRAFFITI ARTS
First Place – Brandon Melgar Escalante
Second Place – Byron Pang
Third Place – Max Grogen
SPOKEN WORD
First Place – Kallopasi Vaitai
Second Place – Elliot Lieberman
Third Place – Katie Mittonegal
Starr King 4th and 5th graders learned a simple method of stamp-making, using rubber erasers and paint pens. The students each got to design their own t-shirt using their stamps and colorful fabric markers. They were encouraged to focus on the fashions they like best and to create fun patterns with their stamps. The glow in the dark marker was the greatest hit!
This week, ISA students began their third mural of the year. This time the students are painting on portable boards that can hang anywhere in the school. The whimsical mural depicts a puzzle of the cityscape that students see from their school at the top of Potrero Hill. Some of the puzzle pieces are missing and others fly away, transforming into painterly clouds. The puzzle pieces signify the role that each student has in shaping his or her neighborhood, and the constant rebuilding and reconfiguring that’s necessary in a healthy community. The puzzle piece cityscape is framed by bright sunflower-shaped flowers, representing growth and vital positivity.
