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Children’s Artwork Calendar to Raise Funds for Kiln
 | | Young artists of Philipstown working on fund-raiser calendar |
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“Where’s the clay?” This was the question asked by most of the children as they entered The Living Room for the first time. After finishing their clay creations they asked with great excitement, “Can I take it home?”
Initiated by Chris Ostrowski, The Living Room Project was one of the many exciting opportunities offered to the children of the Philipstown Community Center during its Summer Fun Program this past summer. With fantastic energy and artistry, the children transformed the downstairs art room of the Community Center into “The Living Room.” The empty room came to life with the vibrancy of the children’s constantly evolving artwork. The key to the success of The Living Room Project was that the children’s ideas were the focus.
Of all the materials offered to the children in The Living Room, clay turned out to be their favorite. Over the course of the summer, the children used over 700 pounds to create worlds of whimsy and beauty. Clay was always available for the children in The Living Room. However, when they asked if they could take their artwork home, the answer was always accompanied with a warning. “Yes, you can take your artwork home but be very careful with it. It’s fragile since it hasn’t been cooked in a kiln.” This didn’t deter any of the children. Beaming with joy and full of pride, they took special care to build containers to transport their artwork home.
From these precious moments, an obvious need arose for a pottery kiln. Due to legal restrictions, the Community Center is not permitted to do fundraising. Therefore, members of The Living Room decided to spearhead a project to raise money to buy a kiln to donate to the Philipstown Community Center. The children all became very excited with the idea. Some offered to do a car wash to raise funds. Others suggested that they build a kiln, which is certainly an idea to be addressed in the future. And then Eva Lewandowski, one of the parents, offered up the idea of a fund-raiser calendar filled with the children’s artwork. For an entire week, the floor of The Living Room was covered with 12 large panels of paper, each labeled with a month of the year. The children filled these panels with fantastic and spirited art. And they did so by working together, in full cooperation, each artist’s work blending with the artwork of their friends. They invested a lot of time and ideas in this project, operating with the hope that their efforts would be rewarded with a kiln. And Philipstown is just the type of community that will fulfill their hopes and reward their hard work.
Chris and Colleen Ostrowski formed the Living Room Clay Angels to help make this happen. They transformed the images created by the children into a calendar. Joined by parents Libby Parks and Emily Breer, they proceeded to prepare and market the calendars. The artwork of the children started to find homes immediately. Josh, Pete and Grey at Garrison Tree Inc. bought a stack of calendars before they even hit the stores.
At this point our community really showed its colors. Several local merchants agreed to sell these calendars in their shops, with all of the proceeds going toward the kiln. This is a very busy season for a merchant to make space for items that will not benefit them financially. Yet our neighbors on Main Street in Cold Spring answered the call. They believe in the importance of celebrating children’s artwork. And they demonstrated a strong commitment to this community with their no-strings-attached generosity. These merchant angels are Heaven and Earth Works, Paynings by Caryn, Merritt Bookstore, Hudson Valley Shoe Fitters, and Cold Spring Music Company. And now it’s your turn. Pay a visit to these local shops and take home some calendars. They are truly a gift that will continue giving for years.
Once we raise enough money as a community to donate a kiln to our community center, the clay projects for the children to imagine and create over the years will be endless. Philipstown is a community alive with the spirit of childhood. Let’s keep the spirit alive, and growing. If you would like to help distribute these calendars, or help this project in any way, please email Chris at ctopots@yahoo.com or call (845) 788-4088.
And a giant thank you to all of the children for the artwork. Your vision is what we are all seeking!
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