As folks make their way through the Grand Rapids streets this year, taking in the sights and sounds of the city’s preeminent art festival, they’re bound to notice hundreds of larger-than-life dragonflies peppering the Heritage Hill neighborhood. Of those hundreds, about 25 were designed by students from Grand Rapids Public Schools.

In the spirit of community, and with the message in mind that “art is for everyone,”  the association invited some GRPS schools to participate as well, using donated wooden dragonflies.

Innovation Central Middle School, located right in the heart of Heritage Hill, jumped at the opportunity to be involved, as did City High/Middle School and Coit Creative Arts Academy.

Each wooden dragonfly, measuring about 2 feet from wing to wing, was divided up so multiple students could work together on the same dragonfly at the same time.

Innovation Central Middle School art teacher Rory Tubbs leads students in a lesson.

Tubbs said she offered a little bit of guidance, but mostly let the students follow their own creative impulses in decorating the dragonflies with paints, markers and crayons.

“I did suggest patterns as the idea, but they were able to do whatever they wanted, as long as it was school appropriate,” Tubbs said.

Eighth-graders Carl Murray and Justice Pearson said they appreciated that freedom.

“She just let us be creative,” Justice said. “She didn’t demand, like, we have to do this and that.”

For the most part, students worked on the project in groups, with one dragonfly at each table of about four students, and every student focusing on a different wing or corner.

“Basically, we made different types of patterns for the dragonfly and for the wings and stuff,” said Carl. “We made different shapes for it, like stars or lines, or waves, and we designed it.”

For Carl, the project was a highlight of the early part of the school year. He’s an art lover who has, in the past, attempted to write and illustrate his own comic book. And after this experience, he said he might try again.

“I like art so much, because I like drawing things and designing things (and) I like making stuff out of paper,” he said.

Seventh-grader Leni Brown designed an entire dragonfly herself, because some of the other students in her group were out sick when the work took place. Leni’s favorite part of the process, she said, was “picking out the colors and adding designs — like polka dots, blues, pink, gold, silver, zigzags, squiggly lines.”

Dragonflies designed by students from three GRPS schools can be seen in the Heritage Hill neighborhood during ArtPrize

Tubbs, their teacher, said the project was a great way to foster creativity, and that it allowed for easy collaboration between general-education students and students with special needs.

“I wanted to make sure it was accessible, and something that all the classes could participate in,” she said.

Students’ dragonflies will be returned to them when ArtPrize wraps up, Cook said, adding, “We’re just really excited that the kids can say, ‘We had a piece in ArtPrize!’”

By:  Riley Kelley