Sailing
Sailing Quilt 60" x 87" (twin sized bed quilt)
Over the past month I’ve been diverted from my normal art making activities at times to design, help print and construct this quilt for my kids’ school’s silent auction. Like all public schools it is seriously underfunded so the parents are expected to make up the difference by fund raising.
Why can’t the navy hold a bake sale and the schools get enough money to pay for decent teacher salaries and all other needs? Yes I know that’s a bumper sticker but it is frustrating.
At the beginning of the year I pay a chunk of cash for the "get out of fund raising" option so my kids don’t have to go door to door and I don’t have to pester my coworkers to buy magazines but each year the school also holds a silent auction and each crew (they don’t call them classes) is expected to contribute a kid-produced item for bidding.
This year my daughter’s crew is doing a sailing expedition (I’ve mentioned my kids’ school before in this post - it’s based on outward bound philosophies and is a very hands-on expedition based school). In May my daughter and her 23 crew mates (4th and 5th graders) will fly to California and then sail a tall ship to Catalina Island where they will live and work on the ship for 4 days . The kids will be expected to sail the ship back without help. My son did this trip when he was in 3rd grade and it was an amazing learning experience so I’m excited for my daughter (and very jealous).
The school integrates all areas of study into their expeditions and in art class they carved linoleum blocks of sailboat images and printed them on paper. I bought some textile paint and along with the help of several other parents we had the kids also print their images onto fabric. I spent the last month, finding time here and there, making this quilt for the auction, which will be held in a few weeks.
Posted by Lisa in: Diversions
Vicki said,
April 3, 2007 @ 8:37 am
The quilt is beautiful!
tracy said,
April 3, 2007 @ 9:21 am
Looks like a fun project!
Our school tax bill is separate from our property tax-and is twice as much. We are constantly getting hit up to participate in fund raising events throughout the school year. And the school here isn’t all that great either. I am pretty sure I could go in and straighten out the whole mess but they probably wouldn’t let me.
Status quo, you know.
The Lone Beader said,
April 3, 2007 @ 1:53 pm
Wow! I love it! Was this photo taken at your studio?? Someday I hope to have a huge white wall like that full of beaded pictures=:)
Lisa Call said,
April 3, 2007 @ 3:43 pm
Thanks Vicki.
Tracy - just think how big the bill would be if we all got a separate bill for our country’s defense spending. It would make the school tax bill seem tiny. Oh wait - we do - it’s called federal income tax.
LB - yes - the photo is taken on my studio wall - a 20 foot long wall covered in flannel. It’s awesome. I have quite a few of these walls in my studio because this is how I design my work. All your bead pieces up on a wall together would be great.
Look here for more studio images: http://blog.lisacall.com/2005/07/my-studio.html
floribunda said,
April 3, 2007 @ 6:05 pm
what a cool quilt! definitely one of the nicest school fund-raiser quilts I’ve seen. I don’t have kids, but I wish my friends and neighbors would go the “get out of fund-raising” route like you do…
Lisa Flowers Ross said,
April 3, 2007 @ 6:06 pm
We have the fund raiser, too. This year I decided not to do a quilt and helped someone else with class project. I have done two quilts thus far for the fund raisers. Maybe next year I will do another.
cynthia said,
April 3, 2007 @ 8:05 pm
School fundraising use to make me go running in the other direction, but now I’ve been involved in 2 of the multiple fund raisers for my daughter’s school this year. The silent auction was much more enjoyable than say selling entertainment books and Sally Foster wrapping paper. It is just part of education now. I don’t think our parents fund raised like we do now a days.
Your children’s school will be lucky to receive your quilt and what a wonderful experience for them to go sailing and live on a ship.
Diane Clancy said,
April 4, 2007 @ 11:10 am
I too wish the navy would do the fundraisers and the schools get funded … Our property taxes just go up and up … but our schools are important .. so I can’t say reduce our taxes …
Lucky kids in school to be able to create a project like this!
- Diane Clancy