WAYNESBORO – “Keep noticing things and be observant,” local artist Seth Holmes urged Summitview Elementary students when he visited the school March 20.
Dr. Allison Beaudry, elementary literacy coach/Title I coordinator and
Dr. Erica Vinson-Ondecko, early childhood coordinator for Waynesboro Area School District (WASD), led the program for Holmes to present his watercolor illustrations of the students’ “Alien Takeover” stories they wrote as part of Downtown Waynesboro StoryWalk series. “It’s a partnership the district has formed with Seth (Holmes Watercolor), Alexander Hamilton Memorial Free Library, Mainstreet Waynesboro Inc., Sam Richardson, director of Camp Penn, and various downtown Waynesboro businesses,” Beaudry said. “Kindergarten and third grade students at all four elementary schools – Summitview, Fairview, Hooverville and Mowrey – created stories, Seth designed illustrations for the stories, and then the stories were placed in the business windows for a StoryWalk that took place March 14,” she added. Beaudry, Vinson-Ondecko and Holmes visited all four schools for the presentations.
An “Alien Takeover” story was written by each class based on prompts offered by the teachers, Vinson-Ondecko said. “The story walks are one of my favorite events,” she added.
After the presentation, Holmes answered questions about how he began his career as an artist and described the process he uses to create the illustrations based on the students’ stories.
“This is the second year for this project,” according to Beaudry. “Last year, it was for kindergarten and first grade.”
The story walks are funded with a donation from the Nora Roberts Foundation. “This year we added funding provided by TFEC (The Foundation for Enhancing Communities) Arts For All grant that I wrote,” Vinson-Ondecko added. The grant also funded the purchase of take-home watercolor art kits distributed at the StoryWalk.
“This is such a fun way to engage the community and inspire creativity in the students,” Holmes said. “I hope I inspire them to paint and explore their creative expression.”
