Hundreds of custom pinwheels were planted in front of Hot Springs High School on Monday as students completed a recent project in observance of two international celebrations of peace.
About 400 pinwheels were placed by the front entrance of the school on Monday, a day after the United Nations International Day of Peace, Sept. 21, was observed. The high school students discussed peace and bullying as part of the two-week project for Pinwheels for Peace.
Art teacher Michelle Watts said the classes began by discussing color theory before getting more involved with discussions about peace. She said the topics ranged from bullying in school to the events in Ferguson, Mo., last month to the ISIS aggression in the Middle East.
"We have had some really cool conversations about the diversity at our school, how well everybody gets along and how accepted everybody is here," Watts said. "It was just a really fun thing for the kids to express their thoughts about peace and bring it out."
Pinwheels for Peace is an art installation project started in 2005 by two art teachers in Coconut Creek, Fla. Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan began the project as a way for students to express their feelings about current events in the world and in their lives.
The project utilizes pinwheels as a childhood symbol that is easy to put together. Participants are encouraged to write their thoughts about "war and peace/tolerance/living in harmony with others" on one side and plant them outside of visible locations in public.
It was estimated that about 500,000 pinwheels were set up in 2005 at more than 1,325 locations throughout the world. Participation has grown such that an estimated 4.5 million pinwheels were spinning on Sept. 21, 2013, at more than 3,500 locations in the U.S., Canada, Australia and other countries in Europe, Africa, South America and the Middle East.
"I liked that we were part of a world project," Watts said. "I showed them videos of that, as well."
Pinwheels for Peace is a nonpolitical activity. The "peace" sought by the project is not necessarily associated with war, but can also relate to common violence and intolerance.
Watts said the project took on more of a local, personal nature with students at the high school. She said students do not engage in all lessons as vividly and psychologically as the recent project.
"When kids are working with different media, they do start to think about what they are doing and why it is happening," Watts said. "It is a nice way to get those conversations out there and bring out thoughts that they might not think about in other classes."
Paper and straws were used to construct the pinwheels. Students placed them in front of the school throughout the day.
The pinwheels were made by mostly freshmen students in Watts and Lorrie Duke's Art I classes. Watts' Creative Design students created their own digital designs and printed them out.
Local on 09/23/2014