Ledge Street School
Nashua, NH
The Ledge School in Nashua served as the inaugural site for Ground Beneath Our Feet, and offering amazing opportunities for designing the project’s environmental, curricular, and creative components.
Ledge Street School is located within easy walking distance of all three types of natural environments that the program investigates: the Mill Pond wetlands connected with the Nashua River; a woodlands located just behind the school; and a meadow zone between the woodlands and the school’s recreational field.
The Ledge School’s amazing team of fourth-grade teachers – Terri Ferullo, Donna LaPierre, Libb Crocker, and Laurie Vance – dedicated themselves to integrating soil-based lessons into their science, literature, math, and arts curriculum. And with a working group of eighty fourth-graders actively participating in the murals’ creation, the mark-making and image-generating possibilities were rich and varied.
Day One: Soil Digs and Outdoor Activities
Andy Colter and Olivia Bartlett, Soil Scientists from the U.S. Forest Service based in Campton, NH, came to meet with students and teachers, and to dig three soil pits, one for each of the three kinds of ecosystems whose soil we are exploring: wetlands, forest, and meadow. I joined the kids, teachers, and foresters for a walk to the Nashua River and a wetlands dig, then a walk back to the school woods for the forest, and finally a meadow dig right outside the school fence. Joining in a foundational experience for the project, without a lot of teaching for me on day one, was a good way to meet the community, and to begin to learn the students’ names and personalities - so essential in facilitating creative work.
The teachers had organized a series of outdoor games and learning activities for students to engage with when they were not directly by one of the pits investigating the soil. For example, “Alphaboxes” encouraged kids to find examples of creatures and elements of the natural world beginning with each letter of the alphabet, illustrating them if they wished. Also, working with glue, long strips of paper, and samples of different soil components, students created soil horizon strips.
Ledge Street School is located within easy walking distance of all three types of natural environments that the program investigates: the Mill Pond wetlands connected with the Nashua River; a woodlands located just behind the school; and a meadow zone between the woodlands and the school’s recreational field.
The Ledge School’s amazing team of fourth-grade teachers – Terri Ferullo, Donna LaPierre, Libb Crocker, and Laurie Vance – dedicated themselves to integrating soil-based lessons into their science, literature, math, and arts curriculum. And with a working group of eighty fourth-graders actively participating in the murals’ creation, the mark-making and image-generating possibilities were rich and varied.
Day One: Soil Digs and Outdoor Activities
Andy Colter and Olivia Bartlett, Soil Scientists from the U.S. Forest Service based in Campton, NH, came to meet with students and teachers, and to dig three soil pits, one for each of the three kinds of ecosystems whose soil we are exploring: wetlands, forest, and meadow. I joined the kids, teachers, and foresters for a walk to the Nashua River and a wetlands dig, then a walk back to the school woods for the forest, and finally a meadow dig right outside the school fence. Joining in a foundational experience for the project, without a lot of teaching for me on day one, was a good way to meet the community, and to begin to learn the students’ names and personalities - so essential in facilitating creative work.
The teachers had organized a series of outdoor games and learning activities for students to engage with when they were not directly by one of the pits investigating the soil. For example, “Alphaboxes” encouraged kids to find examples of creatures and elements of the natural world beginning with each letter of the alphabet, illustrating them if they wished. Also, working with glue, long strips of paper, and samples of different soil components, students created soil horizon strips.
Day Two: Sketching in the Murals
The next day (having spent the night in between in the family home of Ledge Street School 3rd Grade teacher Mary Dumont, who graciously welcomed me), I began working with the students to create three 6’ x 7’ mural diptychs of two 3'x7' panels each. The teachers had worked together to divide up the kids into three large groups (one for each ecosystem), and then into three sub- specializations with in each group: the treasures team, the surface team, and the layers team. I had two 15 minute periods with each of the nine subgroups over the course of the the day. This meant that I needed to explain that session’s tasks succinctly, and then step out of teaching role and into collaboration with the kids. Each mural consists of two seven-foot lengths of three-foot-wide tarpaper placed side-by-side, so even within one mural, different children’s drawings styles and dynamics have a palpable presence. I found that the first session with each group was a bit chaotic, as the children worked to stake out their masking tape marks on the surface, and to orient themselves to the basic iconography they were creating. In the second session, now that a lot of other information was already present on the mural surface, I felt that students could draw and explore with less anxiety.
The basic materials that I had chosen – tarpaper (with its rich, dark surface and toothy grain), masking tape (which, by protecting areas of the tarpaper, provides linear structure), oil pastels (which lend themselves to smearing, tapping, linear work, and improvised color mixes), and latex housepaint (applied using plastic stencils that the students drew and cut themselves) – open up all kinds of sense doors for the children. For example, some girls figured out that they could completely cover the surface with thickly layered oil pastel, and then smear it around with their fingers, much to their delight. I showed them that they could also scratch into the smears with the end of a paperclip, and all of a sudden they had a clear invitation for creating microscopic roots and creatures on the surface of this very large work.
Elsewhere, children became fascinated with creating nests, burrows, and hidey-holes for their favorite creatures. These needed to be defended from the stray mark-making of children in other groups. I took the children’s territorial concerns seriously, and encouraged them to find ways to negotiate around developments they otherwise might have found distressing.
The next day (having spent the night in between in the family home of Ledge Street School 3rd Grade teacher Mary Dumont, who graciously welcomed me), I began working with the students to create three 6’ x 7’ mural diptychs of two 3'x7' panels each. The teachers had worked together to divide up the kids into three large groups (one for each ecosystem), and then into three sub- specializations with in each group: the treasures team, the surface team, and the layers team. I had two 15 minute periods with each of the nine subgroups over the course of the the day. This meant that I needed to explain that session’s tasks succinctly, and then step out of teaching role and into collaboration with the kids. Each mural consists of two seven-foot lengths of three-foot-wide tarpaper placed side-by-side, so even within one mural, different children’s drawings styles and dynamics have a palpable presence. I found that the first session with each group was a bit chaotic, as the children worked to stake out their masking tape marks on the surface, and to orient themselves to the basic iconography they were creating. In the second session, now that a lot of other information was already present on the mural surface, I felt that students could draw and explore with less anxiety.
The basic materials that I had chosen – tarpaper (with its rich, dark surface and toothy grain), masking tape (which, by protecting areas of the tarpaper, provides linear structure), oil pastels (which lend themselves to smearing, tapping, linear work, and improvised color mixes), and latex housepaint (applied using plastic stencils that the students drew and cut themselves) – open up all kinds of sense doors for the children. For example, some girls figured out that they could completely cover the surface with thickly layered oil pastel, and then smear it around with their fingers, much to their delight. I showed them that they could also scratch into the smears with the end of a paperclip, and all of a sudden they had a clear invitation for creating microscopic roots and creatures on the surface of this very large work.
Elsewhere, children became fascinated with creating nests, burrows, and hidey-holes for their favorite creatures. These needed to be defended from the stray mark-making of children in other groups. I took the children’s territorial concerns seriously, and encouraged them to find ways to negotiate around developments they otherwise might have found distressing.
Day Three: Cutting Stencils and Filling in the Worlds
After a Thursday-to-Tuesday hiatus, I returned to Ledge Street School and to the mural project. Our main task in the morning was to draw stencils on thin sheets of plastic, and then to cut them out. Depending on which subgroup the students were in, they chose imagery that was appropriate not only for the ecosystem they were working with (forest, meadow, or wetlands), but also their sub-specializations (surface, treasures, or layers). Thus, a wetlands surface participant might choose to create a cattail stencil, while a forest treasures participant might choose roots.
In the afternoon, students collaborated to fill in all the un-taped areas on the mural surfaces with color, so that the initial masking-tape drawing would appear in all its glory. The students seemed to love this all-in task, especially after I showed them how to peel the protective paper off of whole sticks of oil pastel, and make large marks by dragging the side of the stick across the surface of the tarpaper. I also emphasized color mixing – how artists and scientists combine existing ingredients to make something new, rich, and exciting.
After a Thursday-to-Tuesday hiatus, I returned to Ledge Street School and to the mural project. Our main task in the morning was to draw stencils on thin sheets of plastic, and then to cut them out. Depending on which subgroup the students were in, they chose imagery that was appropriate not only for the ecosystem they were working with (forest, meadow, or wetlands), but also their sub-specializations (surface, treasures, or layers). Thus, a wetlands surface participant might choose to create a cattail stencil, while a forest treasures participant might choose roots.
In the afternoon, students collaborated to fill in all the un-taped areas on the mural surfaces with color, so that the initial masking-tape drawing would appear in all its glory. The students seemed to love this all-in task, especially after I showed them how to peel the protective paper off of whole sticks of oil pastel, and make large marks by dragging the side of the stick across the surface of the tarpaper. I also emphasized color mixing – how artists and scientists combine existing ingredients to make something new, rich, and exciting.
Overnight: Teacher Time!
Teachers Libb Crocker and Laurie Vance, both part of the 4th Grade Team at Ledge Street School, organized an amazing evening gathering. First, Libb’s husband took us on an antique-tractor-pulled hayride from the Crocker family’s home in Amherst, NH, to a nearby wetlands, where he and a local Eagle Scout family had recently completed a beautiful boardwalk and observation platform. Sipping apple cider and enjoying snacks, we talked about teaching, art, and the serene landscape before us. Then, we repaired to Laurie Vance’s house for pizza, conversation, and drawing.
Working together on the process of creating small 12x12” individual paintings on tarpaper had many benefits. For the teachers, working with art materials was either a well-known joy (for Terri, who is an artist), or an opportunity to tap into doing something unknown. All of these responses mirror the students’ experiences in the mural project, which thus became more vivid for the teachers. Working together in this open-ended, creative way served to bring our mural team – and the teachers’ long-standing fourth grade team – closer together. And, in observing the teachers’ art-play, I picked up new ideas for working with the students – most significantly, that project participants might enjoy swapping stencils when working on their individual paintings.
I spent that night at Laurie Vance’s family home, in a magnificently comfortable bed. Thank you, Laurie!
Meanwhile! Other Essential Players
Many people I have not yet mentioned played essential roles in the success of the Soil Mural Project at Ledge Street School. A few in particular come to mind now. First, Rob Lalime, the school’s Art Teacher, facilitated many students’ engagement with the project of creating their own 12x12” tarpaper artwork. Second, the custodial team at Ledge Street School made essential contributions in drilling screws into the Library hallway wall, from which we hung the mural; and in bringing the lights up to full strength for our grand unveiling celebration.
Day Four: Painting Stencils and Celebrating
The morning of the fourth day was dedicated to ripping off all the masking tape, and painting on the stencils in each mural. By limiting the number of students painting at any one time, preparing individual bowls of paint for each color, and using easy-to-handle sponge brushes, this process went much more smoothly than might be imagined, and all eighty children, plus teachers, made our marks well within the time-window we had available to us.
In the afternoon, the teachers and I worked together to hang the murals in the school hallway, on the way to the Library. Terri had contacted School District administrators and other interested teachers and staff to alert them that we would be unveiling the murals. All eighty kids filed into the hallway to see all the finished murals for the first time, and to show one another their finished 12x12” paintings. When the distinguished guests arrived, Libb led a very successful Q&A session, where the students shared some of their experiences with the mural project, asked questions, and received congratulations for their good work.
Teachers Libb Crocker and Laurie Vance, both part of the 4th Grade Team at Ledge Street School, organized an amazing evening gathering. First, Libb’s husband took us on an antique-tractor-pulled hayride from the Crocker family’s home in Amherst, NH, to a nearby wetlands, where he and a local Eagle Scout family had recently completed a beautiful boardwalk and observation platform. Sipping apple cider and enjoying snacks, we talked about teaching, art, and the serene landscape before us. Then, we repaired to Laurie Vance’s house for pizza, conversation, and drawing.
Working together on the process of creating small 12x12” individual paintings on tarpaper had many benefits. For the teachers, working with art materials was either a well-known joy (for Terri, who is an artist), or an opportunity to tap into doing something unknown. All of these responses mirror the students’ experiences in the mural project, which thus became more vivid for the teachers. Working together in this open-ended, creative way served to bring our mural team – and the teachers’ long-standing fourth grade team – closer together. And, in observing the teachers’ art-play, I picked up new ideas for working with the students – most significantly, that project participants might enjoy swapping stencils when working on their individual paintings.
I spent that night at Laurie Vance’s family home, in a magnificently comfortable bed. Thank you, Laurie!
Meanwhile! Other Essential Players
Many people I have not yet mentioned played essential roles in the success of the Soil Mural Project at Ledge Street School. A few in particular come to mind now. First, Rob Lalime, the school’s Art Teacher, facilitated many students’ engagement with the project of creating their own 12x12” tarpaper artwork. Second, the custodial team at Ledge Street School made essential contributions in drilling screws into the Library hallway wall, from which we hung the mural; and in bringing the lights up to full strength for our grand unveiling celebration.
Day Four: Painting Stencils and Celebrating
The morning of the fourth day was dedicated to ripping off all the masking tape, and painting on the stencils in each mural. By limiting the number of students painting at any one time, preparing individual bowls of paint for each color, and using easy-to-handle sponge brushes, this process went much more smoothly than might be imagined, and all eighty children, plus teachers, made our marks well within the time-window we had available to us.
In the afternoon, the teachers and I worked together to hang the murals in the school hallway, on the way to the Library. Terri had contacted School District administrators and other interested teachers and staff to alert them that we would be unveiling the murals. All eighty kids filed into the hallway to see all the finished murals for the first time, and to show one another their finished 12x12” paintings. When the distinguished guests arrived, Libb led a very successful Q&A session, where the students shared some of their experiences with the mural project, asked questions, and received congratulations for their good work.
- Narrative and Photos by 2016 Ground Beneath Our Feet Artist in Residence Julie Püttgen