Unveiling the Art
When local artist and Mustard Seed parent, Mike Malizia, saw the fourth and fifth grade MLK art work on display in the stairwell, he and his wife, Erin Bowden, offered to think about a way to preserve these works of art so they can be part of the school's permanent collection.
Mike works with wax and resin in his own art and keeps a studio here in Hoboken, at the Neumann Leather Building. So, Mike and Erin came to meet with Mrs Choi and Ms Buckley, then we rolled up the paintings and Mike took them to his studio.
A month later one of the paintings was ready to be installed at school. Mike came to visit Thunder and Lightning to talk about his artistic process and show the finished piece.
While Mike spoke, we were struck by his many connections to STEAM.
Mike uses many math skills;
As we often find in STEAM, Mike experienced some initial difficulties and had to redesign his original plan. On the first piece, the resin leaked under the construction paper affecting the colors. For this second piece, Mike took apart the many layers of the painting and adhered them again with an acrylic gel. He then went around each layer with clear caulk to keep the resin from working under. We appreciate his perseverance and creativity.
Thank you to all those involved in preserving this piece of art, especially Mike Malizia.
We are excited for this to be on view for many years to come.
Mike works with wax and resin in his own art and keeps a studio here in Hoboken, at the Neumann Leather Building. So, Mike and Erin came to meet with Mrs Choi and Ms Buckley, then we rolled up the paintings and Mike took them to his studio.
A month later one of the paintings was ready to be installed at school. Mike came to visit Thunder and Lightning to talk about his artistic process and show the finished piece.
While Mike spoke, we were struck by his many connections to STEAM.
Mike uses many math skills;
- a ratio for the quantities of ingredients in the resin mix,
- measuring the dimensions of the art when constructing the frame,
- problem solving how to hang the piece given the weight of the resin treatment and the strength of our walls,
- calculating the time to dry each layer, with several layers making one inch deep.
As we often find in STEAM, Mike experienced some initial difficulties and had to redesign his original plan. On the first piece, the resin leaked under the construction paper affecting the colors. For this second piece, Mike took apart the many layers of the painting and adhered them again with an acrylic gel. He then went around each layer with clear caulk to keep the resin from working under. We appreciate his perseverance and creativity.
Thank you to all those involved in preserving this piece of art, especially Mike Malizia.
We are excited for this to be on view for many years to come.
