Art For The Sky- Dolphin Project

ASF Partners With Art for the Sky!

"Put Your Sky Sight On!"

ASF team members were recently invited to participate in an interesting project with Tampa Bay Blvd. Elementary School in West Tampa, and Art For The Sky. Art for the Sky is a unique art form created by artist Daniel Dancer, where detailed scenes are laid out on the ground and viewed from the sky. What makes this a unique project is that the participants get to become part of the art! Approximately 850 students and staff took part in this image, and is one that they will never forget!

Daniel and his son are fellow kiteboarders from the Columbia River Gorge area in Oregon, and have completed many unique living art scenes that always carry a positive message.

This project consisted of the creation of a giant dolphin scene on the school grounds, using materials such as fill dirt, white sand, and even clothing for the borders and shading. The students learn about dolphins and the ocean in the weeks leading up to the project, and were really excited to get started on this giant masterpiece! Art teacher, Stephanie Bucklew set up this event, and had the children working on their own dolphin paintings in preparation for the big day.

The students were a big help in laying out the scene and moving the materials into place, using their endless energy loading dirt and sand into the wheelbarrows and buckets. (Those kids sure took their shoveling seriously!) They also brought in pairs of blue jeans to add additional colors and shading to this scene.They did a great job when placing the materials, so that it all blended together into this piece of art that was almost the size of a city block!

Phase two of the project is where the kids get to become part of the picture, and was as much fun as preparing the site and placing the materials. Its a good thing that dolphins live in water because on the day of the photo shoot, the skies opened up, forcing Daniel to reschedule the main event. Luckily, the rain didn't wash away the hard work of these kidsand volunteers, and helped to enhance the color of the materials used. The students and faculty wore various shades of blue clothing, and were placed throughout the scene by the volunteer "sky marshalls", which included a professional baseball player, Myron Leslie of the Oakland A's, whose wife is a teacher at the school.

There's nothing like the sight of 850 kids working as a team and becoming part of a living artwork! I was amazed at the energy of these great kids, and their level of interest in this project. Pr

ojects like this are proof that one person like Daniel can bring many people together to raise awareness about the environment, have fun, and create beauitful artwork. It was truly an honor to be a part of this project, and a moment in time that I will never forget!

Be sure to check out the Art for the Sky website at www.artforthesky.com to see more of Daniel's amazing works of art. The ASF Team is honored to be a part of this project and is now planning a kiteboarding scene with Daniel later this year.

Special thanks to Daniel Dancer from Art For The Sky for inviting the ASF Team to participate. Extra special thanks to faculty, parents, and students of Tampa Bay Blvd. Elementary, Randy Burnett of Burnett's Rock and Landscape, Sims Crane, Chris Trugillo, The Tampa Tribune, News Channel 10, and all the other volunteers on this project.