ADVOCACY This photo of our large-scale ephemeral snow art was taken by a drone. Imprints on the Snow I Lisa Gilman t isn’t easy to describe the experi-ence my students and I had while working with snowshoe artist Jason Cote. The whole experience was serendipitous. After teaching art for twenty years, I was thinking of new ways to engage my students. Looking to breathe new life into my lessons, I began to look into snowshoe art. I dis-covered and contacted Cote through social media and asked if he would be interested in working with middle-school students. Meeting Jason Cote Through a local community organi-zation, Winthrop Plays Outside, we commissioned Cote as an artist. He visited our middle school in Febru-ary for a half-hour assembly. Students looked at Cote’s work and asked him questions, and he shared how he uses carpentry and geometry skills to cre-ate designs in the snow. Then we just had to wait for snow to begin our col-laborative activity! began. Cote arrived at school at sun-rise and sketched the preliminary design in snow. He laid down the initial circles and paths for students to follow, using a stake in the middle of the design and a rope to create the circles. He then used a shovel to make the letters. Small groups of students took turns working on the snow art and follow-ing Cote’s directions, as we only had behaved, but from my view, it looked like organized chaos. Cote hired a professional drone photographer to take the final photographs and video. The pictures were amazing! The design and wording was clear, and the middle-school staff and I were all awe-struck. Students expressed their grati-tude for the experience for days after. An Ephemeral Experience The snow art was temporary, but the memories will last a lifetime. When I got home and had time to reflect, I thought of Christo and of Jeanne-Claude. Their work is chal-lenging for many to understand as it is temporary, environmental, and con-ceptual. Whatever you want to call it—artwork, art happening, snowshoe art—my students and I got to feel like Christo and Jeanne-Claude for a day. The experience transcended all expectations for me and my students, so much so that we repeated it the fol-lowing year. Lisa Gilman is an art teacher at Winthrop Middle School in Winthrop, Maine. lgilman@winthropschools.org Whatever you want to call it—artwork, art happening, snowshoe art—my students and I got to feel like Christo and Jeanne-Claude for a day. twelve pairs of snowshoes. For many students, this was the first time they had ever used snowshoes. About 150 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade stu-dents of all abilities helped to create the large-scale artwork. I enjoyed the process as I watched from the sidelines, directing students and helping them get snowshoes on and off. Students were incredibly well-Large-Scale Snow Art Twelve inches of fresh snow fell on March 8, and on March 9, the magic 12 MARCH 2020 SchoolArts
School Arts Magazine March 2020: Page 14
