From palette to pig

Thursday, April 19, 2001 • Vol 7, Issue 8

General Article

Hutch School kids give fiberglass hog a makeover

photo by Matthew Landkammer, Seattle Art Supply

Painting the coloring book scetions of the life-size pig became a welcome challenge for Hutch School students.

Students at Hutch School got to participate in public art last month as they painted a life-size coloring-book pig, one of the 200 to be featured in the Seattle public art project Pigs on Parade.

"If it was a real pig, we wouldn't be having so much fun," said aspiring artist Todd Greenberg, 9-year old student from Florida, "but if he was real we could ride him to Gameworks and play all day long."

The 200 pigs will be seen hogging the sidewalks of downtown Seattle in the first Pigs on Parade on Saturday, May 26.

Presented by the Metropolitan Improvement District Retail Core, Starbucks Coffee Company and AT&T Broadband, Pigs on Parade will benefit the Pike Place Market Foundation and hopes to raise $1 million as seed money for a market endowment.

Seattle Art Supply, a sponsor of Pigs on Parade, decided to work with 30 Hutch School students in adorning a pig.

"We have an ongoing relationship with the Hutch School, providing them with many of the supplies that they use in their art program," said Russ Williams of Seattle Art Supply.

"We thought it would be fun to have the kids help paint the pig and a great way to introduce them to community involvement."

The fiberglass pig, weighing 40 pounds and standing 6 feet long, was painted all white with black outline drawings of children, butterflies, art supplies and nature.

Students chose parts to paint filling in color between the black lines.

"I wanted it to look like a coloring book, with images that kids would be interested in," said Kate Endle, the artist who created the black outline.

"I wanted it to say something about creativity and art supplies, since that's who we are."

Nancy Mednick, artist in residence at Hutch School, was excited to have her students participate. Mednick also is involved with children and art through her organization Heart and Soul and Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center.

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