WRITE ME WITH ART! program makes pen pals of students at Loyola College and St. Frances Academy WRITE ME WITH ART! began with a conversation between by Iyana Wakefield, Director of the F.O.R.E (Families on the Reading Edge) program at the St. Frances Academy in East Baltimore, and Mary Beth Akre, Associate Professor, Department of Fine Arts at Loyola College. They wanted to create an association between Loyola and St. Frances students that promoted literacy and also had to be fun. The visual arts and literary arts are intertwined in elementary education, and specifically, reading. Iyana suggested a pen pal program, matching a Loyola student with a 3rd or 4th grader from the after school program. Mary Beth suggested sending art cards in the mail, with letters and greetings on the back of the postcards. They hoped that receiving cards in the mail would be so exciting that all participants would equate fun with reading and writing. Ms. Akre’s Painting I and II students visited St. Frances Academy in November to make the first set of postcards and to greet some of their pen pals. Students in her FE100 and 2-D Design classes also volunteered to be pen pals. The first design was based upon a German artist, Franz Marc, who loved animals and painted them in bold and vibrant colors. Students were encouraged to create animals that were fantastic in color and pattern. They also had to cover the entire postcard with color and texture. Click here to view samples of images and messages created by St. Frances students for their Loyola pen pals. On Wednesday, March 28th, from 3:30-5:00 pm, the St. Frances students will be visiting Loyola. In an effort to match the kindness and hospitality shown to Loyola students in November at St. Frances, a number of festivities have been planned. As new are cards are being made, Funfetti Cake will be served, and t-shirts and beads, donated by Marty Kelly and Teddi Burns of Loyola's Athletic Department, will be given away. Most importantly, the gathering will give pen pals from both institutions an opportunity to meet each other. That gathering is open to anyone who wishes to join in the making of new cards and to perhaps become a pen pal! |
