Artist Profiles for IUSB Center for a Sustainable Future’s Spring 2011 Original Art Rain Barrel Project

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Twelve area artist and artist groups in the Michiana area have been busily painting 55-gallon plastic containers converted for use as rain barrels.

Introduction to this Project

They then go to the South Bend Museum of Art for two weeks where they will be sold at public auction on Friday, May 6, 2011 starting at 7p.m.

The decorated Rain Barrels will be on display at local businesses from March-April 2011.

The goal of this Project is to raise awareness of water as a natural resource and demonstrate how homeowners can save money while protecting the St. Joe River and watershed by capturing water in a rain barrel.

This Rain Barrel Project is being conducted by Kathleen Petitjean, Occupational Therapist with Students & Buddies from the Special Needs and Abilities Preschool (SNAP) of the South Bend Community School Corporation and a Fellow with IU South Bend Center for a Sustainable Future.

1. Artist: Kathleen Petitjean

2. Artist Group: Special Needs and Abilities Preschool (SNAP)

3. Artist: Mike Depositar

4. Artist Group: Washington High School / Adrianna Galacia

5. Artist Group: St. Joseph’s High School / Eleanor Harding

6. Artist: Michele Klota

7. Artist: Betty McKinney

8. Artist: Nicole Brinkmann Reeves

9. Artist: David Murray

10. Artist: Mitzi B. Sabato

11. Artist: Jill Wygant-La Fountain

12. Artist: William Tourtillotte

Onward to the Artist Statement for each of the 12 Artists and Artist Groups who have participated in this Project….

Now…

Written by Kathleen Petitjean, who is coordinating this IUSB Center for a Sustainable Future’s Spring 2011 Original Art Rain Barrel Project

Although most of my professional artwork is pen and ink, I love an opportunity to pick up a paintbrush and play with colors. In addition to being an artist, I work as an Occupational Therapist with schoolchildren with special needs. My “green” activism also keeps me busy with projects with the city of South Bend, Oxfam America and the League of Women Voters.

The Fellowship for this Rain Barrel project was granted to me last summer by IUSB’s Center for a Sustainable Future just as I was leaving for my first visit to Ireland. Knowing I would be painting one of the barrels, I carried my sketchbook on my trip and allowed the art and natural beauty of Ireland to infuse my work. My artistic goal was to create an image depicting the dependence on water for all life on Earth.

“Interlace”, the national signature style of Ireland in which bands of motif are intertwined, seemed a natural fit for my design. In Dublin, I was intrigued by the illuminations in the 1200-year–old Book of Kells, and the weaving of ancient Celtic designs with the relatively new stories of Christianity.

From these beginnings, I added our scientific understandings of the development of life on Earth to a work of art I hope serves as a gentle reminder for us to respect the resource we all need for survival; water.

Photo: Kathleen Petitjean, SNAP OT and a Fellow with IUSB Center for a Sustainable Future, poses with her finished Rain Barrel.

Won’t you join us on Friday, May 6, 2011 for the Rain Barrel Auction,

and perhaps even bid on one of these amazing Rain Barrels?

Written by Kathleen Petitjean, who is coordinating this IUSB Center for a Sustainable Future’s Spring 2011 Original Art Rain Barrel Project and who is an OT with the SNAP Program.

Underwritten by the teachers and therapists of the SNAP Program, several classes of preschoolers are participating in a “progressive” design on their Original Art Rain Barrel. The SNAP rain barrel project is being directed by Occupational Therapist and IUSB Fellow Kathleen Petitjean. Kathleen is taking the barrel between the SNAP/Buddy classrooms at Hamilton, Madison and Darden Primary Centers. The children are using non-toxic tempera paints and began by freely painting the entire barrel lovely shades of sky blue using paintbrushes, kid-sized paint rollers, sponges as well as their hands! The children enjoyed climbing a small stepladder to reach the top of the barrel, looking inside the various holes cut for the rain barrel’s hardware and experimenting with the force of gravity as some brushes were dropped into the holes at the top of the barrel. They then added handprint “branches” to a tree painted on one side of the barrel and are currently working on adding a “rising sun” with their handprints.

The teachers and staff enjoy having the barrel as a special activity for their students. SNAP teacher Kate Sullivan, noted, “this project is great as it elicits academic and social skills such as turn-taking, following directions and even doing the number concept of ‘just one’. We also love that the kids get a chance to get their hands messy; what a wonderful sensory experience this has been so far!” Kathleen and her colleagues look forward to helping the children complete their rain barrel and seeing the children’s faces when the barrel is finished and ready for display. Upon learning the barrel he was painting would be sold to generate money for his school, 4-year-old Joe asked his teacher if she would use the money to buy grapes for snacks for him and his friends.

Photo: Helping a little artist apply his handprint to the Rain Barrel by Buddies and Students from

the Special Needs and Abilities

Preschool of the South Bend Community School Corporation

Written by Mike Depositar

When Kathleen Petitjean, IUSB Center for a Sustainable Future Fellow, asked Mike Depositar, manager at Lochmandy Collision Center, if his shop would be willing to donate the automotive clear coat finish for this Original Art Rain Barrel project, Mike readily agreed.

An accomplished artist himself, Mike offered his artistic talent for one of the barrels.

Mike, an avid fan of Coca Cola, decided to convert the plain barrels, in which Coca Cola's secret ingredients are shipped, into a giant Coke can.

Photo: Mike Depositar’s Rain Barrel

Remember to mark your calendar for May 6th … The Rain Barrel

Auction will be held at the South Bend Museum of Art

beginning at 7pm

Statement Provided by Washington High School / Mrs. Sherry Sprouls and Adrianna Galacia

Mrs. Sprouls' Art students and Ms. Garcia's Language Arts students submitted design ideas for the WHS rain barrel. A panel of teachers then chose the winning design, which was by Adrianna Galicia, a WHS senior.

Adrianna spent 2-3 hours a day for more than two weeks completing the painting of the WHS rain barrel.

WHS is proud of this contribution to the auction and can't wait to see the show! WHS also would like to thank Barnaby's of South Bend for being our underwriter.

Photo: WHS Artist, Adrianna Galacia, poses with her finished Rain Barrel

Written by Eleanor Harding, St. Joseph’s High School

I am currently a senior at Saint Joseph’s High School. I participate in Independent Art Studio and Advanced Drawing under Paul Kuharic and Cynthia MacWhorter. Next year I plan on attending the University of Notre Dame to study Industrial Design.

After being asked to design and paint a rain barrel on behalf of the Saint Joe Art Department, I considered what exactly is meant by a “sustainable future.” I hoped that my rain barrel would not only be useful for water conservation but also meaningful and creative. The circles are meant to represent a bright hope for sustaining a cleaner and eco-friendly future. They are set against a monochromatic background representing the industrial, threatening path we could be heading down.

These rain barrels can bring awareness to the importance of both water and soil conservation while taking a step toward a more sustainable future.

Photo: St. Joseph’s High School Artist, Eleanor Harding, poses with her finished Rain Barrel

Written by Michele Klota

Since childhood, I have always had a strong love for art, animals, and nature.

Participating in the rain barrel project has allowed me to share and express my interests in all three areas. I have chosen for my theme the age old saying, “It's Raining Cats and Dogs”. I believe that as stewards of our environment, we need to be mindful not only of the environment itself, but of the many creatures that live in our environment with us. Whether wild or domestic, these creatures need our love, care and respect, so that they too may enjoy a safe, healthy, and happy life on this planet that we all share.

In creating my design, I have included caricature representations of my pets as well as the pets of friends and family members. These fun and humorous representations hopefully reflect the fact that all living creatures have a distinct and unique spirit and personality.

In addition to benefiting IUSB's “Center for a Sustainable Future”, proceeds from the sale of my rain barrel will also benefit the “Saint Joseph County Humane Society”. I will be donating the artist portion of the proceeds to them for the support of all the furry creatures in our environment they care for, who are in need of our love, care and respect.

Photo: Michele Klota poses with her Rain Barrel

Written by Betty McKinney

I was born in Lafayette, IN and moved to South Bend when I was 13 years old. I graduated from John Adams High School and received my bachelors in Interior Design from Purdue University.

I began to draw and paint while I was in college but put down my paint brush for 18 years until my last child moved away.

I just recently set up a studio in an empty bedroom.

Ah, the luxury of an empty nest! My inspiration for my design for the barrel was the barrel itself. I expanded on the idea that the barrel would be holding water and thought how fascinating it would be to paint an aquarium.

Photo: Betty McKinney poses with her Rain Barrel

Written by Nicole Brinkmann Reeves

Some of the things that defined my childhood were spending summers camping around the country, helping my parents in the family vegetable garden, and taking art lessons at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

As an adult, I still love the outdoors, gardening, and visual arts, and my rain barrel is a celebration of these things. I was inspired by a photograph I remember seeing once a long time ago. The photographer (of whom I unfortunately do not know the name) took his camera to the same spot in the same field in each of the four seasons and then he merged these four photos into one so that the seasons blurred into one another from left to right across the panoramic photo.

With the focal point of a tree, my rain barrel shows the changes of the seasons as seen around the landscape of farmland.

Photo: Nicole Brinkmann Reeves poses as she paints her Rain Barrel

Written by David Murray

Gardening has always been a big part of my family’s summer heritage, mostly because it’s one of the most enjoyable, productive things to do when hockey is not in season. It’s one of those activities where there is always something to do.

By day, I’m a graphic designer and by night, I’m still a graphic designer, so let’s hope that some of my skills can transcend media.

One of the most enjoyable things to do in the summer time (besides gardening) is to sit back and crack open a cold one. And in terms of drinking while it’s hot out, I’m sure that plant’s aren’t that different from us, so my rain barrel will be designed as the plants’ drink of choice, sort of a play on corporate art.

I am sure the plants will all be dying for a drink of “Rain Water Lite.”

Photo: Artist, David Murray

Written by Mitzi B. Sabato

Daughter of a prominent psychoanalyst, my work has always maintained an interest in the human psyche, personal narrative, subjects of science, religion, astronomy, literature and photography.

I am interested in how the identifiable object can draw the viewer into a piece of sculpture for a meaningful interaction and journey. My areas of study and investigation are ceramics, and fiber, mixed media sculpture – assemblage utilizing many techniques. I’ve spent the last few years in returning to my roots in ceramics, which I always pursued while acquiring my other degree. The current work is in porcelain. The bodies of work are studies of closed forms referencing wind erosion shapes, gulch walls of Montana river canyons, cone shaped vessels and pod forms.

The images I have chosen for the rain barrel are two dragons, opening their mouths to receive a drop of water. Dragons are powerful images throughout many cultures, often reflective of wisdom and the primal forces of nature, religion and the universe…

I thought that all these qualities made a good match with collecting rain water – besides, my daughter has always loved the dragon image.

I hope that the patrons will find the dragon rain barrel engaging, and will bid fiercely to own it!

Photo: Mitzi Sabato poses as she paints her Rain Barrel

Written by Jill Wygant-La Fountain

Ever since I was a young child I have loved creating things with my hands and expressing myself through art. Having worked in several mediums, I find I have a certain knack for photography but do enjoy painting with acrylics.

Up until now, all of my paintings have been for my pleasure. This is the first time I have been tasked with trying to convey an important message with my artwork.

For months this barrel sat, primed and ready to receive its colors. As I searched for inspiration, I started to think about what the barrel would hold; this life source we, as a country, tend to take for granted. I thought of those who thirst and the feeling of having that thirst quenched. I imagined diving into an ocean of water to escape the heat. I thought of the water that drenches my husband's garden, helping the plants to stand a little taller; refreshed, revived and healthy!

Keeping those feelings in mind I began to paint without any plan or picture, I just let the paint swirl and move until the barrel was covered with my vision of water.

I am humbled to have been asked to paint a rain barrel for this important project and to be among this group of amazingly talented local artists. With my rain barrel, I hope for these things; that you gain a greater appreciation of our natural resource of water, you will work to conserve and protect it and that you will share your knowledge with others.

In addition to these things, I hope my rain barrel brings you pleasure when you look at it!

Photo: Jill Wygant-La Fountain and her dog, Zippo, pose with her Rain Barrel

Written by William Tourtillotte

I am an artist, educator and subsistence farmer and have been a member of the South Bend community for twenty-five years. As Chief Curator/Program Director at the South Bend Museum of Art, I invented, organized and engineered exhibitions about water and sustainable design.

My artistic activities have ranged from public murals to comic book workshops and have for the last decade, in my paintings and installations, utilized materials that I grow and produce on my small farm. I believe that the visual arts need to use earth-friendly, non-toxic materials and methods. I imagine the art of the future fabricated from water, recycled waste and solar power grown plants and vegetables.

My rain barrel image is an 8-bit pixel rendering of Dianthus flowers in my garden. Individual squares ordered in a grid combine to make the larger image - one drop at a time. Rain falling on a roof, running into a gutter and flowing down a spout to collect in a rain barrel reflects the convergence of media and information occurring today in our culture and worldwide. It is my hope that awareness about conservation, sustainable design and eco-activities build in the same way until we experience a watershed of significant change. If you need additional information, please go to my website www.artbert.com

Photos: William Tourtillotte provides his photo source for his Rain Barrel design (far left) and poses as he paints his Rain Barrel (left)

Without the support of the following Underwriters…

This project would not be possible…

IU at South Bend Center for a Sustainable Future(website)

St Joseph County Soil and Water Conservation District(website)

South Bend Museum of Art(website)

Barnaby’s of South Bend(website)

The Beehive Salon(website)

Coca Cola Bottling Company of Indiana(website)

Foegley Landscape Company(website)

Gary Mester, Master Photographer(website)

Goodrich Auction Company(website)

Just Goods(website)

Martin’s Supermarkets(website)

Lawson-Fisher Associates(website)

Lochmandy Collision Center(website)

Purple Porch Co-op(website)

Red Hen Turf Farm(website)

Teachers and Therapists of the Special Needs and Abilities Preschool (SNAP) of the South Bend Community School Corporation(website)

And…

Last BUT …

NOT least…

The Troyer Group(website)

Come on down to the South Bend Museum of Art on Friday, May 6th

beginning at 7pm to check out all 12 of these Rain Barrels and perhaps to bid

on one and take it home!