Summer program takes on string art

The BOCES Adventure Challenge group enjoyed working on an art project June 8 as part of the two-week activity program.

Adventure Challenge is sponsored by Sweetwater BOCES and takes place the first two weeks of summer. This summer marked the 26th year the Adventure Challenge has been active.

The kids get a T-shirt every year and get to experience a variety of fun activities. The group consists of kids from fourth through eighth grade.

"It's a fun age group," instructor Michelle Cordova said. Cordova has been involved in the program for 18 years, and has been in charge of it for six years.

The kids worked on string art projects in the Green River High School art room with GRHS and Expedition Academy art teacher, Sonja Higgins. To make the string art projects, the kids started with a wooden board and a picture.

They traced the picture on the board to use as an outline for the nails. After tracing the image, nails were hammered into the board following along the outline. Hemp cord or floss string in a variety of colors was then used to wrap and weave around the nails to create a picture.

"The kids are older and mostly boys, so I thought this might help keep their interest because of the hammering," Higgins said.

Higgins helped the Adventure Challenge group with art projects last summer and twice again this summer.

The kids chose from a number of images to outline including sports team logos and animals, and some even created their own designs. Some used colored pencils to trace the outline and then colored it in before wrapping the string around the nails, while others used paint.

"I had the idea of using Fathers Day themes, so one kid made a buck head because his dad likes to hunt, and another kid made a fish. I thought they could be good gifts and something to hang on the wall," Higgins said.

The activities are run and managed by adults and high school aged workers. They assisted the kids with hammering the nails into the board.

"The high school helpers are paid, so it's a fun little summer job, for two-weeks," Cordova said.

The Adventure Challenge group rides bikes to different activities around the town in hopes of encouraging the kids to explore and try new experiences while also practicing safety.

"We want to expand their experiences," Cordova said. "Our goal is to let them know there are fun things to do around town, and safe ways to get there, and also to get them motivated to bike and be excited about bikes," Cordova said.