ALRI - Timberland - 02863

It's about the kids - Celebrate!

2009-03-16T18:06:00.000-07:00

Classroom Happenings and Unexpected Lessons

2009-03-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

I thought the class room meeting yesterday was very good. I've been thinking about Eric doing the photography, climbing up on the box, changing lenses, etc. I'll bet that the students talked about it later among themselves or at home. They've probably heard about fashion shoots, etc., but they witnessed a professional photographer working with a group of artists who were intently doing creative stuff. It just so happened that the creative stuff was with the students' boots. It was an experience that probably showed them quite a few things. The value of their boots as ART, working together, a creative atmosphere where new ideas -even strange ideas -are valued. All the ALRI artists were focussed on helping Eric with a good, artistic shoot, and the boots were the center of attention. I think there were lessons in that which we never thought about and which the students benefitted from.

Bill and I talked about what we were teaching the students on the drive up. I think we taught them something yesterday that we never thought about. It came naturally from our creative cores!

Evelyn

2009-03-16T15:50:00.000-07:00

And Eric, our photographer responds:

I thought about this on the way home, too. I wish that we had included the students in the process... Had them arrange boots, shown them the final images and what we thought were the better images... We were so intent on getting the image that we passed up an opportunity. Next time....
... and, believe me, you're not talking about a professional photographer!
Be of good cheer,
Eric

Coming to the End

2009-03-02T13:06:00.001-08:00

The boots are being completed. Kids who had thought the task impossible when introduced in the Fall, or thought it just another art project are discovering a whole new side of themselves.

Reflections in a Down Economy

2009-02-02T12:16:00.000-08:00

The project has been very different this year than last. We have had to steel ourselves for the trip to Central Falls High School. The foreclosure rate in Central Falls is the highest in the state (57/1000) with Rhode Island being the highest in Southern New England. On each trip there are more boarded up houses on the streets leading to the school. These are not detached single family homes either - these are triple deckers, some with units fore and aft, so as many as six families might be affected by a single abandoned house.

The nativism promoted by the current governor in his policies towards immigrants has added to the tension among the students. We see this particularly this year because we know some of the students from last year whom we are encouraging to apply to college. We promote college without being able to address the elephant in the room of immigration status - and hope they will have the courage to see themselves as college students.

This year it is all the more apparent when the downturn arrives, those least prepared are the ones most directly and deeply affected.

Coming to the Holidays

2008-12-15T12:38:00.000-08:00

As we look towards the break for Christmas we are coming to the end of the design phase. Some students who had settled into the design quickly, have even begun painting their boots.

The designs this year are seem less focused on identity -- my national flag, my soccer team's colors. the flora of my homeland, or my favorite thing -- and more on an escape. There are boots with medieval worlds, boots with fantasy characters, and boots with mythical plants. Some boots still reflect ethic heritage or national identity but this year more are personal.

For many reasons this year feels different from the last time. We feel constrained in the materials - the paints that were new last year, are sometimes thick in their pots, hardened and impossible to reconstitute. The paints and Sharpies from last year have become art supplies - that sense that the materials were special, were part of a singular project, has been subsumed into the class routine.

But still, there is joy - hard work and focus on rework to make things perfect.

Project Launched for 2008-09

2008-11-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

Mimo Gordon Riley mentors a student as he begins to experiment with the designs for his boot template.

2009 Edition Welcomes New Artists!

2008-10-31T12:10:00.000-07:00

The project kicked off the other day. We have two new artists, Mimo Gordon Riley and Kenn Speiser. Both are a great addition to the project. Susan has a new room this year - just as warm and creative as her former space only this time it is bigger and architecturally more interesting with overhead beams running through one section. (I wonder if it has been decorated for this Hallowe'en).

Mimo Gordon Riley

2008-10-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

Mimo Gordon Riley is primarily an oil painter, with a particular interest in trees. That interest may result from her having completed her formal arts education at the Portland School of Art in Maine, the pine tree state. She has also studied in Florence, Italy, New York, NY, and at the School of the Museum, Boston, MA.

Mimo has exhibited extensively in Rhode Island and Maine - most recently at Gallery Agniel and the Space at Alice in Rhode Island, and the Seven Knots and Mulford galleries in Maine. Her website at http://www.mimogordonriley.com showcases her work.

The 02863Project 2009 Edition!

2008-10-22T06:54:00.000-07:00

The ALRI-Timberland 02863Project will fly again for the 2008-2009 academic year. We will be working again with Susan Vollucci and the students at Central Falls High School. Thanks to generous contributions from ALRI we were able to purchase the boots this year. (Timberland's fortunes in the marketplace, have, well, stuttered, like the rest of the market). The calendar this year will allow for a little more time - we plan to begin the project in November and end it in May 2009. Looking forward to another exciting year.

Boots Go on Tour - United Kingdom

2008-10-17T07:07:00.000-07:00

The boots have made their splash in Rhode Island, but they have also been on tour in the United Kingdom. Johanna spoke about the boot project in Aberdeen, Scotland and Cardiff, Wales.

These are the boots at Castle Eilean Donan on the shores of Loch Duich.

It's a Wrap for 2007-2008

2008-07-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

The 02863Project has a summer vacation before we start up again in the next school year. Our visits to Timberland have been rewarding and it looks as though they will again support the project. This time will be much easier as we know the teacher, the process, and have all the materials.

We raised over $10,000 for the project and awarded three $1000 scholarships that will be renewable for a second year. The funds are for books and art supplies - an increasing cost for college students and a barrier to many who have worked hard to get to college and put together packages of grants and loans to further their education.

Thanks to all who supported the project and I look forward to seeing the boots on the streets in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New York and many other states.

Celebration!

2008-06-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

For the celebration, Max Covill, RWU 08, made a video to explain the project to the attendees. In the video, three of the participating artists, Evelyn Rhodes, Bill Heydt, and Felica Touhey, reflect on the project. The video also shows the classroom interactions and students' finished boots.

Celebration and Auction - 6 June, 6:30 - 9:00PM Sponsored by the Gabelli School of Business, Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI

2008-04-20T04:35:00.000-07:00

The 02863Project will close out this year's events with a celebration and auction at Roger Williams University, Friday, 6 June 2008, from 6:30 to 9:00 PM. The auction features sixteen pairs of Timberland first quality boots, each uniquely hand painted by an ALRI artist. Images of those boots and a description follow. Each artist and their boots are profiles - there are two pages so click to go to the next page.

The funds raised will go to the 02863Project Scholarship Fund to support Central Falls High School Art Students who pursue higher education. The fund has already raised over $6000, so we hope many people will come and bid at the auction.

The celebration and auction will be held in the courtyard of the architecture building. This allows us to use the jumbotron to view the videos and slide shows that document this project.

Looking forward to seeing you there. As it says on the invitation card, enjoy a light supper, bring your enthusiasm, and bid high and often.

We are the world...

2008-04-20T04:16:00.000-07:00

Priscilla Malone (whose collaboration with Dan Butterworth is below) was inspired by the multicultural mix of the great class at Central Falls. With students from the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Costa Rica, the Pacific Rim, and the good ol' USA as well as other places, it seemed fitting to celebrate all of us.

Froggy Slipped from the Tropical Pools

2008-04-20T04:14:00.000-07:00

Jane Gavin must have sensed the students from Puerto Rico missed their coqui's - the symbol of the new Puerto Rico where its rich and unique tropical flora and fauna are leading to a new world. These bright creatures, with the allegory of the one missing from the pond, make a pair of boots as different from each other as they are unique together.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

2008-04-20T04:12:00.000-07:00

There is something about paisley that has always reminded me a patchouli - a synesthetic experience that give a lightness to my step, and youthfulness to my spirit. These paisley's, however, are not your mild swirls from a tire, but little balls of fire, spinning wildly across the boots. They'll light up your life!

I Gotta Crush on Picasso

2008-04-20T04:10:00.000-07:00

Carole Stone, who discovered the project after the events at the school had ended, but was inspired by the project to support that arts and challenged to transform boots in a unique way, has offered her take on Picasso, one of her favorite artists. Ladies to the left, gentlemen to the right of me and we can all dance!

Getting Wild in Central Falls..

2008-04-20T04:09:00.000-07:00

Evelyn Rhodes confronted with a pair of size 12 Timberland boots, asks, how to make them smaller, maybe even disappear? Use what the animals use and try camouflage. Like Ellsworth Kelly, who found inspiration in camouflage to disguise and hide tanks in World War II, Evelyn takes the patterns of animal hides to transform her boots. There are few people with sharper eyes for the natural world and Evelyn has captured the patterns of tigers, leopards, and giraffe in these boots.

Miles - Kinda Blue

2008-04-20T04:08:00.000-07:00

Felicia Touhey approached her boots as a printmaker - taking in large part cues from her experience with the monotype process and her work as building collages. This pair of boots reminds me of Miles Davis - the cool blues of Kinda Blue playing off the yellows in Sketches of Spain. The motifs, repetition, a flow of line have echoes of decorative arts of the Mediterranean.

"All you need is love..."

2008-04-20T04:07:00.000-07:00

Bob Boyajian is the grand master of the group. Originally from the Providence area, he had worked in New York long before the digital revolution overtook the production of advertising. Working as a creative director and artist for J Walter Thompson advertising, he design, produced and created the artwork for many newspaper advertisements for the great stores in New York. Echoes of his style, with their grand flourishes can still be seen in the contemporary advertising for Saks. Bob developed a special connection with many of the students through his grace and authentic desire to help them achieve their dreams. When you see the documentary videos and slide shows, you will see the mutual respect between a master of his art and his students.

A Bright and Magical New World

2008-04-20T04:04:00.000-07:00

Johanna McKenzie painted this pair of boots. Originally part of a test pair, she came back to a blank boot at the end of the project to make a pair and her partner did the same. Using her distinctive eye for detail, she created a pair of boots with native American birds and the flora and berries that attract them.

True Romance or the Seduction of Mimi?

2008-04-20T04:02:00.000-07:00

This is a pair of test boots completed by two different artists, Dan Butterworth and Priscilla Malone. At the project's start, each artist was given one boot of a pair, and paints, and asked to experiment with the paint and medium to develop a feel for the tools. Dan and Priscilla collaborated to create a pair, each interpreting the same theme. Now is it really a true romance, or has the mischievous right foot got the sinister foot to heel?

Tyger, tyger burning bright...

2008-04-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

Bill Heydt, a noted watercolorist HATED the paints - they are gluey and thick, unlike the quick flow of watercolor that characterize his portraits and street scenes. WIth his talents he was able to work through the medium and create a tiger hiding in a jungle. After seeing students use the boots as sculptural objects and not just a canvas, he added the bristles to form whiskers, and the jokester that he is, has the tail of the tiger flicking at the heel. In addition to the jungle scene, the laces are also colored, to help them hide the tyger in the jungle.

Boots on Display

2007-12-02T06:13:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the generosity of the Roger Williams University, all the boots painted by the Central Falls students and the participating artists are on display in the lobby of the library on the campus in Bristol, Rhode Island.

Here is a photo, not great, but gives a sense of all the boots in one place.

Stop on by - we would love to get comments. You can make them right below.

Here are some student comments:

Melisa Carrasquillo

I have been living in the library the past week and I am excited to say that everytime I walk in or out of the library there are people admiring the display. They say amazing things about the boots, and some even want to buy a pair. I'm so excited to have been a part of such a wonderful project. -

Shari Rothgeb
This note's about the work boots currently being displayed at Roger Williams Campus. The boots are a great idea and very artistic. The work that you, Johanna, are doing is very appreciated. I know that the outlets for creativity, in certain areas in Providence are few and far between. Thank you for offering the ability for children to exceed and offering art as one of the outlets.

Michael Marsella
Hi my name is Mark Marsella. I just wanted to email you in regards to the fantastic display of Timberland boots with artwork on them. A few of them even seem as though they could be put into the line of production! Anyways, I would just like to say that I found it to be very interesting and to keep up the good work!

Nicole Habin
I'm a freshman Business major at Roger Williams University. Dr. McKenzie was my Business Enterprise professor this past semester and after hearing that I was interested in art, he mentioned to me the anti-graffiti campaign you were participating in at Central Falls High School with the Art League of Rhode Island and the Timberland Boot Company. The project sounded like such a good idea, and when he announced in class that the boots were on display in our library, I rushed over to see them. The art work the students made is absolutely amazing. I actually pointed out your boots with the bear and fish to my friend before realizing that they were yours. Have a great holiday season!

Getting closer to the Celebration

2007-11-30T19:49:00.000-08:00

The project is moving towards the celebration. We will mount all the student boots in the lobby of the library at Roger Williams University. They will be there for two weeks. Then we move to the Providence Art Club for the real celebration.

Picking Up the Boots

2007-11-30T12:00:00.000-08:00

Today we picked up all the student boots from Central Falls High School. It seemed like we were stealing their patrimony as staff from the main office came by, students walking the halls came by, and students who had painted boots wanted to see them. Susan had laid the mass of boots on a table to photograph them. It was the first time all the boots were consorting with each other. What a variety there are. Tomorrow, we go to Roger Williams University to install the boot in the library lobby. See you there!.

Looking inside the classroom

2007-11-30T06:23:00.000-08:00

All of those of us who have participated in the project have realized that the classroom experiences were the heart of the project. Below is a slide show of the process of painting the boots.

Inside the Classroom - Design Phase

2007-10-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

This is a video of the classroom where the artists, Evelyn Rhodes, Priscilla Malone and Bob Boyajian, introduce the students to the template and design considerations.

A mentoring session follows with the artists and Susan Vollucci, the art teacher, working with the students in the classroom.

Evelyn Thistle Rhodes

2007-10-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

Evelyn Thistle Rhodes, who is currently located in the Narragansett Bay area, is a painter who works closely with the light and shifting colors of the landscape and coast. After looking at her work one can see she has the ability to capture the rural character and various moods of nature through out the seasons. Evelyn is one of the eight artists working on the ALRI – Timberland 02863 Boot Project and is excited to be working with students again. She has a background in teaching and enjoys sparking the creative side of the students when working with them on the project. Evelyn’s test boot is an intricate spider web with flames coming out of the toe. She tried out different types of paint on the fire to see what worked best and found that some sparkly paints showed up quite nicely. In addition she played around with the laces and tongue of the boot by incorporating them into her design. The laces are a part of the web and a spider is hidden in the tongue. Evelyn’s other highlights include being an invited artist at the Mystic Maritime Museum, Connecticut; The Hermitage, Norfolk, Virginia; The Naval War College Museum, Rhode Island and The Fremantle Art Museum, Australia. She currently maintains her studio in Jamestown while continuing to offer private instruction and plein air workshops in southern Rhode Island. To learn more about Evelyn and see her work, visit her site at http://www.evelynrhodes.com/.

2007-10-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

Tatiana Pina of the Providence Journal visited the class with a photographer. Her article ran on Oct 17th, then again on Oct 19th. You can read it here.

Tatiana really got some great quotes from the kids - they were comfortable with her and opened up in a great way.

Pamela Neal

2007-10-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

Pamela Neal of Wickford, R.I. is a painter specializing in her own impressions of scene. Whether painting still life, flowers, portraits, landscapes or seascapes, Pam demonstrates sensuality and a subtle palette. Pam’s own impressions can be seen when looking at the boot she painted for the ALRI – Timberland 02863 Boot Project. She takes a tattoo type approach, creating fun floral designs she felt a young student would like to wear on their feet. She was right on with the youthful tattoo patterns. When the artists went to Central Falls High School to introduce the students to the project they brought their test boots with them. When some of the girls saw Pam’s boot they immediately said they would wear a boot like that and are basing their design on hers. Pam participates in many Rhode Island School of Design programs and has studied in various professional classes and workshops in New England. Pam enjoys involvement in the art community and travels to gain artistic perspective and to paint in a variety of locations.

Classroom Visit - The Big Class

2007-10-12T15:19:00.000-07:00

For someone who has not been to a high school class since, let's just say a LONG time ago, visiting the school was extraordinary. My memories of high school are of a much less diverse student body. These students are from all over - Rhode Island, Columbia, El Salvador, and many other places. Students float easily between conversing in English or Spanish, sometimes a mix of both.
The students have great pride in their heritage and eager to represent their origins and passions on their boots. Lots of students, especially the male students, know soccer well and want to represent their favorite teams - mostly national teams. Other students want to represent some of the symbols of their home countries through butterflies and flowers unique to their countries of origin.

Priscilla Malone

2007-10-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

Priscilla Malone is a fine art painter and designer of stained and leaded glass windows. Through the mediums of watercolor, pastels and stained glass, she captures and brings the nuances of the world around her to the viewer. For Priscilla, art is primarily about individual expression and revealing new perspectives. Her still life paintings expose the simplistic beauty in familiar objects without confining them in traditional still life arrangements. Priscilla has been able to make the ALRI – Timberland 02863 Boot Project come alive with her interpretations of paint on the boots. She worked with fellow artist Dan Butterworth to make a fun pair of faces on the boots. Marilyn Monroe was her inspiration for the face! Along with this project Priscilla, is an active member in the Newport Art Museum as well as member in the Art League of Rhode Island, Portsmouth Arts Guild, the Rhode Island Watercolor Society, an associate member in the National Watercolor Society. In 2005, she was commissioned by the Alzheimer’s Society, RI Chapter, to design the Forget-Me-Not flower pin, and received an award for “Outstanding Creative Contribution” from RI Lt. Governor Charles Fogarty on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Society. To view some of Priscilla work, visit the Spring Bull Gallery & Studio website http://www.springbullgallery.com/artists.html

Class Visit - Reflections

2007-10-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

The class visits are extraordinary. The best summary was in one of the first class visits where a student swept his arms over the table, pulling two of the boots towards him. Hugging the boots to his body, he said, "Why is Timberland giving ME boots? How do they know about us?" He was beaming and got down to designing on his template with real fervor, eager to represent himself best on the boots that would be his.

Robert Boyajian

2007-10-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

Robert (Bob) Boyajian is a well-known calligrapher who worked for 40 years in New York City. He began creating hand done, one-off calendars using pens, brushes, paper, pressed flowers and any other material that caught his interest at the time. Bob brings a different flare to the group of eight artists working on the ALRI – Timberland 02863 Boot Project. His test boot sticks out among the others, with its bright and bold colors wrapping around the bottom of the boot with tattoo like symbols leaving the rest of the boot untouched. Unlike some of the other painters his artwork is very precise and definitive; the shapes are sharp and do not blend together but compliment each other in their placement. Some awards Bob has received through out his career include: Award of Recognition and Appreciation from the International Association of Master Penman, Engrossers and Teachers Handwriting, Award of Appreciation from the Society of Scribes and Fellowship Award from the New York Club of Printing House. After his fine career in the city Bob retired in 1996 and now lives and works in Newport, Rhode Island. To see samples of Bob’s Calligraphic Calendars visit http://bobboyajian.com/.

The Adventure Continues

2007-09-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

Susan Volluci introduced a new group of artists to her second class today. We now have about 40 students in the project. We began by showing them the test boots painted by the mentoring artist. Then gave them the templates to begin work on their designs.

Again, we were startled by the enthusiasm of the students. There is a different dynamic to painting an object that they will keep (and likely wear) rather than a traditional surface such as paper or canvas. The beginning of the process, however, is to test ideas on a more disposable surface with guidlines to simulate the pattern of the cut leather formed into a boot.

Felicia S. Touhey

2007-09-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

Felicia S. Touhey of Portsmouth, R.I. is both a painter and printmaker who applies both disciplines in her encaustic work. Using encaustic paints allows her to combine prints, textures, and color while experimenting with the unique qualities of this wax based paint. Her images are often of landscape, that reflect her impressions of light, colors and textures at an observed moment in time. A long time instructor at the Newport Art Museum School, Felicia teaches drawing and printmaking to adults. As a member of the Art League of Rhode Island Felicia became involved with the ALRI – Timberland 02863 Boot Project and now devotes some of her time to educating and inspiring Central Falls High School art students on how to make the most out of their boot design. Each artist helping with this project was given a test boot to play around with and show students all the different ways they could design this boot. Felicia who is into printmaking focused her attention on colors, abstract designs and patterns; covering the boot with a beautiful mural of swirls and dots. Some of Felicia’s recent exhibits have been at the Newport Art Museum, Imagine Fine Art Gallery, and the Attleboro Museum – Center for the Arts. To see a sample of Felicia’s work visit the DeBlois Gallery website at http://www.debloisgallery.com/Touhey.htm.

RWU Student - Impressions

2007-09-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

Hi my name is Nicole Lombardi and I am a senior at Roger Williams University. I am working with Johanna McKenzie on the ALRI – Timberland 02863 Boot Project. Over the course of the semester I will be working as the Public Relations Intern on the project. I will be keeping an on going journal of the semester's events which will help others understand how the project is coming along. Here is my first journal entry about the first day I met the students who will be participating in the project.

9/25/07
My first day meeting the Central Falls High School students
It was 8AM and Johanna, Felicia, Priscilla and I piled into the car to begin our journey to Central Falls High School. Once we arrived we signed in and met up with Pam, another artist who is helping with the project. We waited outside the Art Room for class to end and as I walked around the empty hallway my eyes were surprised to see all the walls had been painted in beautiful murals of their school mascot and intricate mosaics of different shapes. As the bell rang and students flooded the hallways the five of us entered the Art Class Room to meet Susan Vollucci, the teacher whose student will work on this project. The class room was filled with all different types of art from paintings and stained glass to pottery and drawings.
Once the students were all seated Susan introduced Johanna to the class to explain that their class had the great opportunity to be a part of 02863 Project. As Johanna explained how each student would be given a pair of Timberland Boots to paint, the eyes of every student lit up. She brought out samples of the boots that the ALRI artists had worked on. Each one was unique to the artist -- one had a tiger hiding in the brush, another had a spider web with flames, while others took a more abstract approach using more designs and shapes. The students quickly started picking out which boots they liked and which ones they would wear themselves. The room became full of ideas and paper templates of the boots were handed out for students to start sketching.
As I walked around the room and talked to each student it was amazing to see all the different perspectives and ways this one boot could be interpreted through the eyes of the students. Some focused on things they were interested in such as soccer, dragons, butterflies, while others looked through art books getting inspiration from famous artists’ paintings.
One student really stuck out, when I asked him what he was thinking about drawing he said, “I want to draw something I think Timberland would want, something that they would sell.” He is hoping if Timberland ever sees his boot they may want to mass produce it some day. Some knew exactly what they wanted to put on their template while others sketched things on white paper to take home and practice until their favorite piece came out. The ALRI artists walked around the room giving suggestions and providing insight into what they were thinking when painting their boot. Some students liked Pam’s “tattoo” design so much they are trying to incorporate that into their own. Before we knew it, it was 11AM and class was over. Everyone left the classroom excited for the semester ahead filled with hopes and expectations for what the boots would look like come December.

William Heydt

2007-09-24T11:02:00.000-07:00

William (Bill) Heydt from Newport, RI has a Bachelors and Masters degree in Fine Arts from Rhode Island School of Design. In the past, he has specialized in water color painting and has completed a series of giclee of Newport and Paris. Bill is currently one of the eight artists working on the ALRI – Timberland 02863 Boot Project. He created the paper template that the students will be first working on before they paint on the actual boots. This will give the students a better idea of how their designs will look once on the three dimensional objects. Bill’s permanent collections can be seen in The Brooklyn Museum and Rhode Island School of Design. He has been a part of many group exhibitions since 1975 including Cite des Arts in Paris, Island Arts, DeBlois Gallery, Newport Art Museum, Art League of Rhode Island. Last year he had a solo exhibit at Spring Bull Gallery in Newport and a group show at Arnold Art Gallery in Newport. To learn more about Bill and see his work, go to http://www.williamheydt.com/.

The Adventure Begins..

2007-09-23T14:44:00.000-07:00

Four mentoring artist and one photographer from ALRI made the first visit to meet the students at Central Falls High School and introduce them to the project. Tomorrow, four more artists and our public relations intern from Roger Williams University will meet the rest of the students in the project.

Bill Heydt designed a template for the students design ideas. We thought it would take awhile for the students to get involved. We were startled and delighted that they have plunged right in using graphite and colored pencils. Some students even traced the outline from the template on smaller sheets of paper to work on at home.

Dan Butterworth

2007-09-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

Dan Butterworth is a puppeteer that has performed with his hand-carved marionettes for the last 20 years. He is known for his unique style of dance and expressive movement which has drawn in a variety of artists wishing to work with him on collaborative endeavors. His latest project is working on a special puppet show, Marionette Magique that will be performed at the ALRI – Timberland 02863 Boot Project Celebration in December. Dan is putting together a show focused around boots to highlight all the hard work the adult and student artists put into the semester long project. When given a Timberland boot to paint as an example for the students Dan expressed his own personality by creating a pair of marionette like boots with help of fellow artist Priscilla Malone. Dan has traveled near and far showing off his talents in Asia, Mexico, Canada, Alaska, and most of the lower 48 states at fairs, festivals, and theaters. Dan's crew is involved in producing the entire show from making the marionettes and their costumes, to building the intricate staging. They come up with the choreography, plan out the special effects and lighting, and often times provide the music as well. Recently, Dan’s company has performed Igor Stravinsky's L'histoire du Soldat with the St. Petersburg Chamber Ensemble and with Robert J. Lurtsema narrating. He has also worked both as a performer and advisor on video and film productions (1998 film “Anima” featured his marionettes). Dan has a multitude of talents that have entertained people for years, to learn more about his career and see his work, go to http://www.butterworthproductions.com.

Johanna McKenzie

2007-09-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

Johanna (Joan) McKenzie, who is a native New Englander, began working as an artist in the early eighties. She started out as a clay sculptor, specializing in clay and porcelain animals which she exhibited at Nonquit Pottery, the Naval War College and the Vermont Natural Resources Council. In 1986, Joan decided to focus in on painting and worked extensively in pastels, which were then exhibited mostly in Rhode Island. Now, Joan works in oil on panel or oil on prepared copper sheets as well as in encaustics. She was a founding member of the Art League of Rhode Island and the person that created life for the ALRI – Timberland 02863 Boot Project. The project began when Joan heard about the anti-graffiti efforts in New York involving artists painting huge billboards of boot leather made by Timberland Company. The purpose behind this was to show that when art is applied to the right surface it can be very valuable. After learning about the New York project Joan presented a proposal for a similar project for the Rhode Island area. Timberland awarded her a grant of Timberland boots and art supplies. She and seven other artists would work with the students of Central Falls High School on this anti-graffiti endeavor. This project is taking place during the Fall 2007 semester and will end with a celebration on December 14th highlighting the work of the students and artists. Without Joan this inspiring project would not be possible. Thanks to her passion to inspire the youth to do something productive with art, Timberland boots will never look the same. Joan’s test boot broadcasts her fine work with animals and brings the boot alive with a colorful display of birds. To learn more about Johanna and see her work visit her website at http://www.mollynook.com

Jumped Up in July

2007-07-09T19:05:00.000-07:00

In June the test boots arrived. A dozen. These were for the participating artists. We had no idea what we were getting into. We had leather samples as well. Just plain boot leather to test.

What type of paint do you use for leather?
Will the waterproof treatment prevent the paint from sticking?

Johanna first tested tattoo inks (there's a story there too - maybe later).
Tattoo ink DID not work - it was runny; it got on EVERYTHING; the colors did not work well with the boot color. Not a great solution.

She then tried fabric paint. This had potential on a piece of leather.

Johanna wanted to make sure the boots could be worn. She set the test leather in a swimming pool for 24 hours. It still looked good, even after a soaking!

How the Project Started

2007-01-01T18:59:00.000-08:00

Johanna McKenzie had long been interested in an arts project for the Art League of Rhode Island (ALRI) to engage a different population than the membership. She was really interested in kids. She was also interested in something that might involve an anti-graffiti project.

In November 2006, she read about the Timberland boroughs project. In this project the Timberland company (http://www.timberland.com) used boot leather to create billboards for New York graffiti artists to paint. (Image thanks to Gabriel Jeffrey at flickr). These billboard were part of a bigger campaign, the 10061.com project that aimed to strength ties with the hip-hop movement.

Discovering a company that was interested in doing something with artists and a tie to graffiti on a surface other than someone else's building knocked down the biggest wall!