Article published September 22, 2009
Pinwheel project puts artistic spin on 'whirled peace'
Fourth graders Jade Smith, left, and McKenzie Hutchison plant their hand-made pinwheels on the lawn of Wilson Vance Intermediate School in Findlay as part of International Day of Peace.
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THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT
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By JENNIFER FEEHAN
BLADE STAFF WRITER
FINDLAY - Creating a "pinwheel for peace" made perfect sense to Elonah Bennett, 8.
"I used a lot of different colors like red and yellow and orange and purple - really light, bright colors that make you think about peace," the third-grader explained. "Not brown and black because those make you think about violence.
"I wrote on it in different colors," she continued. "In different corners, I wrote 'hope' and 'peace' and 'love.' I wanted to really make people think about what's happening in the world."
Elonah and her 370 classmates at Wilson Vance Intermediate School in Findlay created the pinwheels in their art classes and planted them outside the school yesterday. The school was one of 2,400 or more sites worldwide that took part in the annual project, which started in 2005 with two Florida art teachers.
Some 500,000 pinwheels were planted that first year. About 2 million went into the ground last year.
It may be hard to tally how many pinwheels were made this year.
About 2 million pinwheels were put into the ground last year by youngsters worldwide.
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THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT
)
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At Englewood Peace Academy, a K-8 charter school in Toledo, students made pinwheels but decided to plant them outside today because of Monday's rain, said Mark Sholl, director.
Adrian Middle School in Michigan also went to Plan B with the 400 or so pinwheels fifth and sixth graders made. "It's been raining here, so we ended up creating a display in our foyer as they come in the building," said Michael Brink, art teacher.
"They're in buckets. They're pinned on material we put along the wall."
Students at Sylvania Franciscan Academy had a peace prayer ceremony around the peace pole at their campus then planted pinwheels from the school down the driveway and out Silica Drive.
"We planted them, and right around 1:30, 2 o'clock, the downpour came," said Bernadette Thompson, eighth grade teacher. "They're still out there as a sign that we want to be - as our sign said, 'spreading whirled peace.'•"
Mr. Brink said a talk about peace went well with the Adrian school's lessons on respect and bullying.
Claire Hibbard, the art teacher at Wilson Vance, said the project appealed to her on several levels.
"I just thought it was a good idea to get art out in the public," she said, adding that she had her students laminate their pinwheels so that they would hold up better in the weather. "The kids need to see some peaceful things in their environment."
According to the Pinwheels for Peace Project Web site, the effort was not intended to be a political statement, just a quiet, moving, visual peace sign.
"Peace doesn't necessarily have to be associated with the conflict of war, it can be related to violence/intolerance in our daily lives, to peace of mind," the Web site states.
"To each of us, peace can take on a different meaning, but in the end, it all comes down to a simple definition: a state of calm and serenity, with no anxiety, the absence of violence, freedom from conflict or disagreement among people or groups of people."
In Findlay, Elonah said she thought the pinwheel display was beautiful.
"It looks really cool and colorful, and I think it's awesome," she said.
Contact Jennifer Feehan:
at jfeehan@theblade.com
or 419-724-6129.
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