Art fridge list.

I teach art in a public elementary school and, as in many school systems, I have a limited budget. To supplement my supplies and help increase parent involvement, I created a simple way to acquire some great donations. I would like to share this with fellow educators.

Every year, I send a "Fridge List" home with every student, and I provide extra copies on Back-to-School Night to grandparents and neighbors. A Fridge List is simply a list of anything that parents might think of as junk, but artists perceive as great finds. As a result, I receive donations for our art cart all year long. Items contributed include fabric, ribbon, yearn, shells, old/broken jewelry, old silverware, etc. In addition to these items, I get plenty of newspaper, Styrofoam trays, and plastic containers. Last year, I included leftover latex paint on the list and received many great colors that were used for a mural project in our school.

The Fridge List project has provided additional supplies that enable me to do many fun sculpture projects with my students that I otherwise could not do. For example, I do a Louise Nevelson junk sculpture using donated boxes and acquired junk. My students have also made some great mosaics with cardboard, beans, and pasta. In addition, we have created collages, quilts, and sculptures from the various fabric, buttons, and wood scraps that have been donated. Excess items that I cannot use are simply passed on to other teachers who, in turn, often come up with creative projects of their own.

--Tracy G. Bond, D.J. Montague Elementary School, Williamsburg, Virginia.