SCENES of nature, bold colors, and words of encouragement dominate the Camp Koru boards painted by Mid Valley Elementary students. At left, several artists join in on a kiteboard, adding their individual takes on a collective theme, such as marine animals, after they made detailed sketches to guide them in the final work. Most of the boards were decorated during Art Week by the kindergarten through fifth grade students. But with the help of board donors, families got into the act, helping decorate a more boards on Family Night in February.
SCENES of nature, bold colors, and words of encouragement dominate the Camp Koru boards painted by Mid Valley Elementary students. At left, several artists join in on a kiteboard, adding their individual takes on a collective theme, such as marine animals, after they made detailed sketches to guide them in the final work. Most of the boards were decorated during Art Week by the kindergarten through fifth grade students. But with the help of board donors, families got into the act, helping decorate a more boards on Family Night in February.
Kirby Neumann-Rea
Sophie Whitehead
A family combines creative efforts on a board at Mid Valley Elementary Family Night.
Kirby Neumann-Rea
Sarah Benson last week finishes off the boards to ready them for auction.
Just as kiteboarding athletes train all winter for summer events such as Kiteboarding 4 Cancer, students from the Odell area worked through the winter to prepare for their part of the activities this weekend.
Mid Valley Elementary students, guided by second grade teacher Sophie Whitehead and local artist Sarah Benson, donated eight kiteboards and four skateboards bearing their artwork for the silent and live auction parts of K4C this weekend (see article, below). The kids’ Boards of Hope, or Camp Koru boards, join many others designed by professional artists and community members.
Camp Koru is an adventure and retreat program for people recovering from cancer. The money raised helps send campers to the adventure retreats on Maui and Mount Hood. The Mid Valley boards will be in a children’s category or possibly in the main live auction portion.
“I’m so proud,” Whitehead said. “It’s amazing. The kids did so well with it, they understood the concept and they got really into it.”
The artwork by is a unique result of the Art Week tradition at the school, but it is rooted in a long-standing relationship with Camp Koru by the Whitehead family of Hood River. Mark Whitehead, a chef, has traveled from Hood River every year for most of the past decade to coordinate nutrition for participants at Camp Koru.
This is the most boards by kids in the three years student boards have been in the auction, Whitehead said. Two years ago, K4C founder Tonia Farman asked Whitehead to arrange a child-decorated board for the event, and it was intended for the silent auction, but Farman chose to put it in the live auction.
“It got a high bid, which was really exciting,” Whitehead recalled.
In an email, Whitehead elaborated:
“In January, a few months before Art Week, Tonia contacted me asking if I would be interested in having my class decorate a (one!) board, like the one we had done three years ago,” Whitehead explained. “And it happened at the same time we were planning art week so it was perfect timing.
“She also asked if I could spread the word with other teachers so there could be more student-created boards. Since I was helping plan Art Week, Tonia gave me an idea for one of the sessions! The next morning, I sheepishly approached (fellow teacher) Sarah Benson to see if she would be interested in teaching the class. I knew she’d be perfect for the job. Before I knew it, Sarah was very enthusiastically planning out ideas for the students! Sarah and I were able to get six kiteboards donated from Slingshot, four skateboards from a Mid Valley teacher, and two kiteboards from Tonia.
“The designs are obviously kid made, and that’s what’s so special about them,” Whitehead said.
Last week, Benson and Whitehead added a sealer to the boards, and now they are ready for display and bidding.
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