The Color Crew + Steve Woods of the Concrete Couch celebrating the completion of "Foothills, to Mountains to Desert, OH MY!!" installed at the Ridgway Elementary School library hallway in January 2011.
What do you get when you combine 200 kids and an equal amount of kid made tiles and an empty cinderblock wall? A really cool multi media mural celebrating the ecosystems in our area!
3 years ago, we invited Steve Wood aka the Concrete Couch, to facilitate a school wide public art mosaic project.
We started with raw lumps of clay, and with our on on going theme of "the valley we live in" for inspiration, guided the children from pre-K to 5th to create creatures and elements representative of our home. Older kids focused on the main event : A Mosaic Eagle for the entry. After a week of hands-on workshops and after school time and energy it all started to take shape.
Months passed, kilns broke, and the tiles ended up in a box waiting for perfect weather for installing.
Weather at this altitude is far from predictable so we came up with a plan: to install the tiles somewhere inside the school instead of outside under the big eagle.
The kids directed the evolution of the project, starting by grouping tiles on the carpet into "families" then ad libbing a storyline. It is truly amazing to work with children, as they are so free to come up with ideas and open to working with others on a big idea. Their excitement and dedication is contagious!
They got to actually hammer holes in the school walls! (do not try this at home) We had to rough up the walls in order for the mortar to stick. There was construction involved, ladders and scaffolding, tools and buckets,
imagining and illustrating. They designed, troubleshooted, installed and finished their group vision which they voted to call "Foothill to Mountain to Desert OH MY!"
See our gallery link on the sidebar for more pics.
Nesxt up? LANTERN PARADE!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Color Crew Welcomes The Concrete Couch!
Remember this guy? It's Steve Wood from the Concrete Couch! He's coming back to Ridgway to facilitate an awesome mixed media mural outside the library. He'll be here Jan 10 - 14 , working with kids in art class as well as scheduled after school workshops. He always makes art an exciting adventure and is sure to make us all laugh alot. I can't wait to see what evolves! Check back for pics.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Signs of Spring


Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Eagle Mural

Sneak preview of the 5th graders' eagle mural project painted with Ralph Lauren Paint. Looking good!
Calder's Circus!



The 4th graders did it again...created a magnificent circus out of old telephone wire, bottle caps and socks. Inpsired by the tinkering of the famous american sculptor Alexander Calder, the kids made magic out of junk. Calder, an engineer turned sculptor, said he "thought best in wire". He could work out the mechanics of his world famous large mobiles with little models fashioned out of wire. The kids had a blast letting their imaginations run wild, solve mechanical problems with experimenting and feel accomplished in sharing their creation as a group at our annual Expressions Art Extravaganza!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Spring happenings with the Crew


We can't believe its spring but signs of it are popping up all over Ridgway Elementary in the form of window paint! The Art Club kids have been adorning our windows with beautiful trees and birds, flowers and bees, and even a banana tree! (very rare in the Rockies!)
The Color Crew is busy getting ready to create this year's 5th grade "legacy project" with Ms. Wilson and Mr. Hilsendager's classes. They will be re-creating the eagle picture hanging in the entry by painting their assigned portion of the painting on a 1ft sq panel . When everyone is finished we will put them all together like a puzzle to reveal a much larger image. We will be adding a wonderful poem about the eagle by Dennis Weaver which will really add to our eagle spirit.
WE can't wait to get started.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
THe Eagle has Landed!

Drumroll please....The eagle mosaic we started with Steve Woods of the
Concrete Couch last fall is finished! The Color Crew will host an unveiling at RES on WEDS DECEMBER 3rd. at 8:30am in front of the school. Next time you're at the school check it out! This project was imagined and created by the 4th and 5th graders of '07-'08. Great job kids! This is the first of what we hope to be a tradition of "legacy" projects. Each year, the 5th graders will help create a lasting work of art that will be integrated into the elementary school landscape.
Concrete Couch last fall is finished! The Color Crew will host an unveiling at RES on WEDS DECEMBER 3rd. at 8:30am in front of the school. Next time you're at the school check it out! This project was imagined and created by the 4th and 5th graders of '07-'08. Great job kids! This is the first of what we hope to be a tradition of "legacy" projects. Each year, the 5th graders will help create a lasting work of art that will be integrated into the elementary school landscape.
Check back here after Weds to see photos of the entire process.
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