“Where have the alewives gone?”
The 8th Grade Art and Service Project
We are so very proud of our accomplishment – to create art and give service to our community that captures the history and culture of the alewives of Ripley Creek and our marsh for others to enjoy, to learn and to reflect on our local natural resources, conservation and stewardship. Our alewives are all but gone, but not forgotten.
We could not have created this beautiful suspended sculpture of schooling fish, swimming their way upstream, full of movement and bright with life without our collaborating partners, clay artist Randy Fein and designer Charles Duvall. Funding support came from Georges River Education Foundation, the Perloff Family Foundation and the St. George School Fund for which we are grateful. A special thank you to Leanne Harty who helped immensely and generously gave her time.
We would also like to thank Paul Meinersmann for support creating our historic text wood silhouettes. Teachers and staff were also very flexible and generous with class schedules to give us bigger blocks of time and for making sure all students were supported with any needs.
We started with these student drawings in mind. We worked as individuals and as a class to create something significant and beautiful that we are proud of and can be enjoyed by our community for years to come.
