By Humanities Project Coordinator and PR Liaison Allison Gilbert
Led by art teacher Emily Wade, fifth graders at Hoffman-Boston worked with the artist Kevin Reese to create an outdoor sculpture for their legacy project. Incorporating art, math, physics, and teamwork, the theme of the sculpture is perseverance, symbolized by the figures climbing, reaching, and helping one another. The predominant colors are blue and yellow, the school colors, and the array of colors in the middle reflect the diversity of the student body. The stars represent the school’s mascot. Students are proud of the finished sculpture.

The Hoffman-Boston residency marks Reese’s final outdoor sculpture residency. Reese has been on the artist roster for the Humanities Project for several years. He will continue to offer his indoor sculpture residency.

As a teaching artist, Reese has been working with young people and teachers throughout the United States since the early 1980’s. His professional development workshops give teachers the skills to build mobiles with their students, integrating mathematical concepts and the notion of visual metaphors. In the spring of 2001, Reese initiated SchoolSculptures with Kevin Reese, a residency program during which he works with communities to create large permanent moving sculptures at schools, community and art centers inspired by the participants’ designs. In the past 15 years SchoolSculptures with Kevin Reese has created over 165 installations in 29 states throughout the country.

For more information on SchoolScuptures, visit http://www.teamsculptures.com/about. Arlington Public Schools has several outdoor sculptures created by students with Reese including at  Washington-Lee, Claremont, Long Branch, and Hoffman-Boston.

For more information, contact Gilbert at Allison.gilbert@apsva.us or x6299.