SchoolArts - August/September 2010

Early this year our PTA presi- dent asked me if I was will- ing to lead our fifth-grade students in the creation of a sculpture garden. Our school is undergoing a long-awaited renovation and an abundance of modular classrooms has left us with less than appealing school grounds.

I immediately saw this as an opportunity to bring our school community together with a positive art-making experience during this potentially stressful time. I had recently read about the Wish Tree Project proposed by Craig Roland on Art Education 2.0 ( arted20.ning.com), and thought that an interactive sculpture would be the perfect start to getting our students and staff involved in the collaborative creative process.

wall engraved with the words “ Imagine Peace” in twenty-four different languages. Since Ono first started the Wish Tree project, more than 700,000 wishes have been collected and included in the Imagine Peace Tower.

The Imagine Peace Tower

The concept of a wish tree is simple: plant a tree; provide tags and pencils for writing wishes; and encourage everyone to write their wishes and tie them onto the tree. Yoko Ono encourages participants to send wishes to the Imagine Peace Tower in Reykjavik, Iceland where they are collected, enclosed in capsules, and buried on the Isle of Videy surrounding the tower.

The Imagine Peace Tower is a memorial to John Lennon consisting of a tower of light surrounded by a

An Interactive Experience During art class, students viewed images of Ono’s Wish Trees and the Imagine Peace Tower. We are lucky enough to live within a subway ride of one of Yoko Ono’s Wish Trees at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC, and I encouraged students to take their families to see the official Wish Tree planted by Ono. We discussed the interactive quality of the artwork and students were amazed at the number of wishes from participants all over the world that have already been collected.

play stand beside the tree, along with a box of tags and pencils for writing wishes.

I also gave every teacher in the school a supply of wish tags and a description of the project in order to encourage students and staff members to create wishes outside of the artroom. By the end of the first week, our tree was covered with wishes. The project continues to grow because students are excited to know that their wish will be included in a global art project.

Power of Collaboration

The most moving part of this experi-
ence was the speed and readiness with
which our school community jumped
into action The project developed a
sense of pride
and leadership
in my fifth-grade
students and I
had a never-end-
ing supply of stu-
dent volunteers
ready to help dis-
tribute wish tags
and care for the wish tree. The project
was simple enough for all grade levels
to participate, and classroom teach-
ers were eager to take students to add
wishes to the tree.

Participation in this project opened up communication between students of all ages and encouraged a continuing discussion of the power of art. Our wish tree stands at the entrance of our school, welcoming all students and visitors to participate in our community. Most importantly, the project brought our school together during a time of stress, grounding us with a sense of togetherness and hope.

Participation in this project
opened up communication
between students of all ages
and encouraged a continuing
discussion of the powerful
possibilities of art.

Planting the Seed Students were thrilled to participate in such a large art project. We started by planting our tree in a large pot. We positioned it near the school entrance where it would be easily accessible to all students, parents, and staff. I posted Yoko Ono’s Wish Tree instructions on a dis-