Art Teacher: Peggy leonard: MLK

Dr. Martin Luther King Project

In celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday we created an all school painting. It is titled "Peace Begins With Me" which was the theme of our assembly. When you view the painting, you will see that it is composed of many circles, circles of all colors and sizes. Each student, grades K-5 painted or stamped a circle to complete the design. Each grade also had a different size circle, with our 5th graders represented by the largest circle on down to our kindergartener's who are the smallest circles. The circles are to represent each student in our school. My inspiration for this painting came last summer when I read an article about Tyree Guyton. He is the artist who created the Heidelberg Project in Detroit. He painted abandoned houses in Detroit with the same polka dot theme. His idea for using the polka dot theme was based on his grandfather's love of jelly beans and Dr. King's statement, "we are all the same color on the inside." Mr. Guyton stated "I set out to change the world and that change starts with me. By changing me, I'm changing the world." My hope is that by completing this project together, students will come to realize, and have a visual reminder, of how we can all work together to keep Dr. King's dreams alive.