Educational Opportunities

STMA Arts Outreach Programs Update 2007

School Projects:

Putnam County High School
Oceans of Possibilities:
Nature Science and the Visual Arts. In the fall of 2006, STMA’s Art Outreach Education Department and the art students of Putnam County High began the second year of Oceans of Possibilities, a three-year project sponsored by Georgia Power and The Marina at South Bay. The program focuses on nature and science as a source of ideas for the visual arts, as well as how art can be used to bring awareness to the urgent need to safeguard the waters of Lake Oconee. Steffen Thomas often used nature and water as subjects in his art. Some of these works are displayed in the Museum and provided inspiration for the students. The Museum’s staff and volunteers enlisted local conservationists and artists to assist with the hands-on project. Inspired by the waters of Lake Oconee, the 42 students created individual “lacquer” paintings, all with an underwater theme. On March 10, 2007 the students’ works were displayed at STMA’s annual event, Celebrating Creative Lives. The young artists then created a 3' by 5' mural containing elements from all the paintings. The mural was unveiled and permanently installed on May 9th at Lawrence Shoals Park Pavilion on Lake Oconee - a crucial realization of the students’ efforts. STMA thanks the following for making this event possible: Georgia Power - A Southern Company; Georgia Power Foundation, Inc.; Georgia Council for the Arts; the Frances Wood Wilson Foundation; Tri-County EMC Foundation, and the Marina at South Bay.


Putnam High Students at work on the mural.	Created by Putnam High art students, this 3' X 5' mural is on permanent display at Lawrence Shoals Park Pavilion on Lake Oconee.

Morgan County Crossroads School
Oceans of Possibilities:
Nature Science and the Visual Arts. This year, thanks to the generous sponsorship of Lafarge North America, STMA’s Art Outreach Education Department also offered the Oceans of Possibilities program to Morgan County Crossroads School students. Working with local artists Barbara Kimbrough and Linda Thoman; STMA volunteer, Dick Whalen; STMA Program Coordinator, Lisa Conner, and Morgan County Senior Center volunteers, the students created individual drawings with an underwater theme emphasizing the need to protect our local lakes. The drawings were then used to produce underwater “lacquer” paintings, a technique originated by environmental artist, Wendy Harford. On March 10th, the Crossroads students’ works were also displayed at STMA’s Celebrating Creative Lives. A 2' by 4' mural featuring elements from all the paintings was permanently installed at the Lafarge Quarry Nature Trail on May 14th.

Morgan County Crossroads students unveil their “Oceans of Possibilities” mural, now on permanent display at the Lafarge Quarry Nature Trail. David Sollenburger of UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources shows Morgan County Crossroads students examples of wildlife from our local lakes as part of the Oceans of Possibilities project.

Ongoing Programs at the Steffen Thomas Museum:

· Family Workshops -- STMA offers tours and workshops for families one Saturday morning a month at the museum. The history of styles and techniques which influenced Steffen Thomas are presented, and an opportunity is provided to try these ideas through a hands-on project supervised by local artists.

· Tours -- Groups visit our unique museum on a regular basis and always seem enthralled with the art. They are often also amazed that they did not know about STMA sooner. We have even given tours to corporate executives, international delegations, local school classes, & groups like the Red Hat Ladies. Help spread the word about our wonderful facility by scheduling a tour for your group, no matter how small. Nearby Madison offers many places for lunch and sight seeing after your tour. Call the museum for a tour reservation and for suggestions on expanding your tour into Madison or for over night accommodations.

2007-2008 STMA Arts Outreach Program

Oceans of Possibilities: Nature, Science and the Visual Arts:

This October, STMA will begin the third year of Oceans of Possibilities: Nature, Science and the Visual Arts featuring a joint project with the Morgan County Elementary School and Morgan County Middle School. Thanks to generous funding from Georgia Power, we have been using nature and science as the theme for a visual arts program with schools in Lake Oconee communities.

Through a hands-on, tailor-made project, STMA staff, local artists and naturalists teach students how art can focus public attention on conservation and the need to protect the environment, especially the waters of Lake Oconee. Steffen Thomas embraced and celebrated nature through his art in a variety of mediums. His works and techniques are used as inspiration for the student participants.

In Phase I, the young artists are supervised in the production of gauche (a type of watercolor) paintings portraying a scene or motif from a river or stream that flows into Lake Oconee. These paintings will be displayed at STMA’s annual Celebrating Creative Lives event, during which STMA will present awards for the most outstanding student work. In Phase II of the project, a group of the students will work with professional local artists to create a large mural featuring the award winning gauche paintings. The completed mural will be permanently displayed at a public place in Morgan County, possibly the new Madison Aquatic Center, now under construction.

STMA is extremely grateful to Georgia Power for making this program possible.

From the Garden Gate to the Dinner Plate:

In January 2008, STMA will offer a new program teaching life skills to the students of Morgan County Crossroads School, an alternative school for at-risk youth. Master gardeners Linda Thoman and Dick Whelan, along with STMA Lead Artist Lindy Burnett, will help the students create a garden at the school.
The gardeners will teach the youngsters how to identify and plant perennials, flowers and herbs. Lindy will instruct them in the creation of gauche paintings of plants and flowers chosen by the students. These paintings will be displayed at our annual education event, Celebrating Creative Lives, in February. The garden itself will be planted in the early spring. The students will also learn how to prepare food using the herbs they grew themselves.

An additional project on plant identification will teach the students how to make illustrated plant markers for the Lafarge Quarry Nature Trail in Buckhead. We will invite artists from the Morgan County Senior Center to assist with this part of the program. In May, STMA and Lafarge North America will host a luncheon, featuring food seasoned with the students’ homegrown herbs after which the plant markers will be unveiled at the Nature Trail.
STMA is extremely grateful to Lafarge North America for supporting this program.

Summer Fun Features Fine Art

Family Connection Camp participants proudly display their paintings at the Steffen Thomas Museum of Art.

This past June, over 40 children, ages 10 to 15, signed up for the Morgan County Family Connection Day Camp, a free summer activity now in its seventh consecutive year. Run with private donations plus funds from the Family Connection state grant and the Morgan County Recreation Department, the day camp offers disadvantaged youngsters a wide variety of summer programs and opportunities.

As part of the camp activities, STMA’s Arts Outreach Program conducted weekly art instruction for the group. The theme of the program, Oceans of Possibilities: Nature, Science and the Visual Arts, focused on conservation and the need to protect our community’s lakes.
Working with local artists Lindy Burnett, Linda Thoman and Ashley Myer, the young participants first created individual drawings with an underwater theme. The drawings were then used to make underwater scenes with acrylic paint on poster paper.

The program also included a field trip to Lafarge Nature Trail with a lecture by Daniel Solenberg, of UGA’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, on indigenous plants and animals, as well as a tour of the Steffen Thomas Museum. Finally, a mural containing elements from all the paintings was created. This mural was displayed throughout the summer at various public sites around Morgan County.

A generous Georgia Council of the Arts project grant made this program possible. We are most grateful. Thank you!

Major Support for STMA Programs has been provided by the Community Foundation of Morgan County, the Frances Wood Wilson Foundation, Inc., The Georgia Council for the Arts, the Wal-Mart Foundation, Bank of America, The Georgia Power Foundation, Inc., C.R. Bard, Inc., and REM, LLC.

Steffen Thomas Museum of Art
4200 Bethany Road Buckhead, Georgia 30625
(706) 342.7557 Fax (706) 342.4348
email us, click here --> info@steffenthomas.org

The Steffen Thomas Museum of Art (STMA) is located at 4200 Bethany Road, Buckhead, GA 30625.
STMA is 60 miles east of Atlanta; 5 miles southeast of Madison.
From I-20 take Exit 121, turn south to Stop Sign. Right on Bethany Road for 1 mile to museum.

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Morgan County Crossroads students unveil their “Oceans of Possibilities” mural, now on permanent display at the Lafarge Quarry Nature Trail.	David Sollenburger of UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources shows Morgan County Crossroads students examples of wildlife from our local lakes as part of the Oceans of Possibilities project.