SSAS and neighbors revamp park benches

The sky is clear and the smell of paint and fresh-cut grass captivates the senses, as five students from Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences are hard at work painting benches May 23, at Gillespie Park.

In October, Gillespie Park Neighborhood Association members and SSAS staff chose the designs of four seventh-graders and one eighth-grader to be painted on the Gillespie Park benches.

The idea for the project came about in March 2012.

“We initially made contact with the city Parks and Recreation Department to ascertain what the level of its ability is to repair and prepare the benches for such a project,” says Charles Morris, secretary of the Gillespie Park Neighborhood Association.”

The department was unable to provide the resources to refurbish the benches, so the neighborhood association came up with its own idea to do it itself and collaborate with a school to paint the benches.

“(The project) is a way to show communities that neighborhoods don’t always have to go to the trough to ask for things. We will do the work,” says Linda Holland, president of the Gillespie Park Neighborhood Association.

After the city approved the project in September, the association contemplated which school to approach, but picked SSAS because of its proximity to the park.

“We want students to take pride and some sense of ownership in the community, and their school is here,” says Holland.

SSAS agreed, and SSAS Visual Arts Director David Carr assigned students to come up with designs they thought would look good on the park benches, and the assignment became a contest for the best designs.

“It’s an integral part of the education process,” said Carr. “The students are in the real world interacting with the association and are taking something they can produce that is permanent and going to be here for a long time.”

In September, seventh- and eighth-graders began their artistic journey with a field trip to the park. There, they gathered inspiration for designs and sketched ideas.

“Going to the park was pretty cool,” said seventh-grader Kyle Guay.

Once all students had submitted their designs, association members and SSAS staff chose five winning designs out of more than 30 designs that had already been pared down from 160 student entries.

First place went to Bridget Fitzgerald; second place went to Danika Schnell; third place went to Carie Ziebell; and honorable mentions went to Kyle Guay and Brittny Friedman. All of the winners received gift cards to Michaels for art supplies.

“It feels good, just because we were chosen out of so many people,” said Brittny.

After the designs were chosen, association member Dan Thomas hauled the rundown benches from the park to his garage to refurbish them for painting. At the same time, the neighborhood association solicited the community and businesses for donations and supplies.

The last time Gillespie Park saw any major improvements was in the mid-’90s — the benches had seen some wear and tear.

Today, students have decoratively painted seven of the benches; the remaining six benches will be refurbished and reinstalled.

The Gillespie Park Neighborhood Association says the colorful benches enliven the park, and it hopes to continue its partnership with SSAS.

“We want to encourage schools to integrate with the neighborhood,” said Holland. “This is just the start of a long relationship with the school, and we can really expand community activities.”