Kids and grownups unite in community art project

Student Adena LeClair posses in front of the wall filled with monster artwork.

Lauren Fallon, community artist in front of her artwork. MAINA DURAFOUR PHOTOS

Logan Rainaldi poses in front of his monster art.

By MAINA DURAFOUR

The walls of Fox Lane High School were covered with more than 600 works of art of all kinds, created by children and grownups.

On Nov. 21, children, parents and artists of the Bedford community gathered at the building for the “Monster Art Project” art show. The program offers first and second grade students of the Bedford Central School District the opportunity to create an art piece inspired by either monsters or a book picked by the Fox Read program. 

Once they are done with the artwork, images are sent to participating community artists to recreate a new piece based on the children’s work.

Adena LeClair, a second grader, drew a washing machine that folds clothes and puts them away for you. She got her inspiration from a picture she saw and used mixed media for the piece. 

“I like to draw because it just, it kind of shows, like, creativeness and, like, it’s really fun,” she said. 

Next to her drawing was the version made by a community artist, a 3D piece instead of a drawing. Adena liked the new version of her project very much and wished she could have met the person who did it. 

She loved to see all the monsters that were created, and asked her mom how she learned to draw. The answer was practice.

“Just pick up a colored pencil or something and just draw what you feel,” she said. 

Another student, Logan Rainaldi, created a monster that has no name, with an oven chicken machine for a mouth and many other features that involve food-making. He loves drawing and encourages other children not to be afraid of doing it. 

Amy Salerno is an art teacher for the district and the person who brought this project to life. The idea bloomed in 2014, when she and another art teacher did a collaborative project between high school students and first-grade students called “Creatures Project.”

A decade later, the project has grown and involves five schools, more than 350 students and many community artists, including older students, teachers, administrators, and alumni. 

“The whole concept is showing kids how valuable their imaginations are to our community and how much they inspire us,” Salerno said. “I want the kids to remember that their ideas and creativity are important and that they are loved and supported by their community.”

Andrew Fishkin is one of the community artists who took part in the project both years. To pick up the art piece he’s going to recreate, he goes through the photos of all the drawings children made and picks the one that jumps out of him. 

This year, he picked Teddy Rodetis’ piece, a monster that flies and can shoot fire. 

“I immediately had a vision in my head. I was watching ‘Game of Thrones’ at the time, so it was a perfect match,” he said. “And I loved trying to come up with my version of it.”

While he was not able to meet with the little artist that inspired him, Fishkin hopes that he will continue to participate in this event. 

“Monsters are fun, there’s no limit to what they can afford. Your imagination can take it anywhere,” he said. “And I would just say, keep drawing, keep imagining, and have the most fun creating.”

Lauren Fallon is another community artist who has been participating. This year, she picked the drawing of a unicorn that she found adorable and created a colorful needle felted art piece. 

“I just feel like it’s exciting to see the two pieces next to each other, and then all the little kids that I’ve seen here seem really excited,” Fallon said.

A group of parent volunteers helped organize the art show, including Lauren Locke. They helped find people willing to create art and even filled out a grant to get signage and have a reception with food and drinks for the children.

“I love when the kid artists meet the community artists, which doesn’t happen to everybody, but there’s a sort of magic when they meet each other,” she said. “Kids feel like they’re meeting a celebrity or something, and then it’s just nice watching everybody walk around and discover.”