Paint the Town!For 8 years, KSOA has enjoyed celebrating the beauty of our city through our annual Paint the Town plein air weekend event. What a fabulous time we have had with hundreds of local and regional artists of all ages and stages! Looking ahead, we are re-imagining ways to offer plein air painting instruction and events throughout the year but we will not be hosting Paint the Town in September 2022. Thank you for joining us since 2014 and we look forward to sharing information about new KSOA plein air events very soon!
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Murals 101 with Martha's Table
Kingston School of Art is excited to announce the installation of an interactive mural, created in partnership with Martha’s Table.
Martha’s Table is a community centre within the social welfare network of the City of Kingston. The centre provides a unique home where respect, compassion, caring, and social interaction can occur in an atmosphere of mutual support, with nutritious meals and snacks in comfortable dining and lounge facilities. The mural design reflects the centre’s mandate of providing social interaction, care, and nutritious meals.
At 8’ x 10’, the mural has an imposing presence. On wooden panels and against a background painted the iconic green of the Martha’s Table logo, are forks in a variety of colours representing a pair of wings, which participants are invited to “wear” by posing in front of them.
Martha’s Table Executive Director Ronda Candy explains how this project developed:
“Several years ago, I decided I wanted to find a way to engage with our community on a new level, one that welcomed everyone to have fun through activity and made our environment more attractive. After some consideration, we decided that we would make a mural with “wings” on it. People would be encouraged to take photos and share with each other, and the mural itself would be comprised of vibrant colours. Our challenge, which caused a delay in the project, was that we had no idea how to proceed! We had never done a mural, nor painted something like a set of wings. So, time went by, but the project was never forgotten. Then it struck me. The Kingston School of Art is two blocks away and maybe they would like to help. I called, and Maddi (General Manager), without hesitation, said ‘Yes, we’d love to help with that!’ In very short order, an artist recommended by Maddi was designing our wings.
“Heather Poechman did an amazing job tying food to wings–thus making the wings more relevant to the Martha’s Table mission to reduce food insecurity–and bringing together the brilliant colours we envisioned. We hope that people enjoy seeing the wings and taking photos with them. We also hope that the mural helps to lift the spirits of passersby and brightens our small area within the community.”
The design, creation, and installation of this mural occurred across several weeks in August and September. The community was invited to participate in its creation. Folks from Martha's Table and Kingston School of Art, led by the wonderful facilitator and community artist Heather Poechman, worked together to paint the mural. Throughout the process, Poechman described best practices for mural creation.
“This mural was an opportunity for the community to engage with Martha’s Table beyond its services while in a creative space,” says community artist, Heather Poechman. “This was also a rare chance for participants to learn mural-making skills in a safe, low-risk, educational environment,” Poechman adds.
Finally, a team of dedicated volunteers from both Kingston School of Art and Martha’s Table assisted with the installation.
Stop by Martha's Table on Princess Street to see the final product yourself!
Photography by Viara Mileva of Quirky Love Photography
Martha’s Table is a community centre within the social welfare network of the City of Kingston. The centre provides a unique home where respect, compassion, caring, and social interaction can occur in an atmosphere of mutual support, with nutritious meals and snacks in comfortable dining and lounge facilities. The mural design reflects the centre’s mandate of providing social interaction, care, and nutritious meals.
At 8’ x 10’, the mural has an imposing presence. On wooden panels and against a background painted the iconic green of the Martha’s Table logo, are forks in a variety of colours representing a pair of wings, which participants are invited to “wear” by posing in front of them.
Martha’s Table Executive Director Ronda Candy explains how this project developed:
“Several years ago, I decided I wanted to find a way to engage with our community on a new level, one that welcomed everyone to have fun through activity and made our environment more attractive. After some consideration, we decided that we would make a mural with “wings” on it. People would be encouraged to take photos and share with each other, and the mural itself would be comprised of vibrant colours. Our challenge, which caused a delay in the project, was that we had no idea how to proceed! We had never done a mural, nor painted something like a set of wings. So, time went by, but the project was never forgotten. Then it struck me. The Kingston School of Art is two blocks away and maybe they would like to help. I called, and Maddi (General Manager), without hesitation, said ‘Yes, we’d love to help with that!’ In very short order, an artist recommended by Maddi was designing our wings.
“Heather Poechman did an amazing job tying food to wings–thus making the wings more relevant to the Martha’s Table mission to reduce food insecurity–and bringing together the brilliant colours we envisioned. We hope that people enjoy seeing the wings and taking photos with them. We also hope that the mural helps to lift the spirits of passersby and brightens our small area within the community.”
The design, creation, and installation of this mural occurred across several weeks in August and September. The community was invited to participate in its creation. Folks from Martha's Table and Kingston School of Art, led by the wonderful facilitator and community artist Heather Poechman, worked together to paint the mural. Throughout the process, Poechman described best practices for mural creation.
“This mural was an opportunity for the community to engage with Martha’s Table beyond its services while in a creative space,” says community artist, Heather Poechman. “This was also a rare chance for participants to learn mural-making skills in a safe, low-risk, educational environment,” Poechman adds.
Finally, a team of dedicated volunteers from both Kingston School of Art and Martha’s Table assisted with the installation.
Stop by Martha's Table on Princess Street to see the final product yourself!
Photography by Viara Mileva of Quirky Love Photography