Artscapes at OAC
March 26, 2009
by Cecilia Marrero
On March 18, 2009 Ecoaddendum launched the Artscapes after school program designated on Wednesdays from March through May of 2009. Co-facilitated by our partners at the Atlanta Outdoor Activity Center (OAC), Artscapes is an environmental education program that highlights students’ experience in nature by using different art mediums and techniques, encouraging students to observe the various eco zones and apply their personal interpretation through creative projects. Georgia Educator, Sarah Collman, and Pandra Williams (local Atlanta artist), have developed an after school curriculum for youngsters who commute from several recreation centers in the SW Atlanta area.
Artscapes provides environmental, hands-on, creative activities, each week presenting students with a different project. During Wednesday’s project, students began with an interpretive hike around the OAC, investigating the
endless interactions between underground and above ground plants and creatures. Back in the classroom setting, students were encouraged to creatively record their observations onto a large rectangle of muslin that their efforts would transform into an artwork inspired by traditional African mud cloth. Traditional African mud cloth is an ancient natural art making process using organic materials 
(mud-based paint and cotton) not only used to signify the wearer’s status, but to tell stories using symbols as language in several African cultures.
To begin applying their thoughts to mud cloth, the class discussed what we had learned from the interpretive hike. As the lines of their images began to connect, the kids unraveled their imaginations onto the cloth and compiled microenvironments expressing their version of their natural surroundings. After everyone was finished, we hung the final product for the last process, to hang dry. 
This introduction to Artscapes sets the tone for the creativity and positive connection with our environment for young people as we continue to incorporate similar activities throughout the spring. We would like to thank the OAC for providing us with such an inviting space for both indoor and outdoor learning. Special thanks goes out to Sarah Collman, who took a large part in the creation and formatting of the after school curriculum. We could not have put this together with out her 7 years of educational experience. Thanks to Sarah and our friends at OAC!
