About 150 VBCPS students recently met Nick Athanasiou.
The artist’s largescale art “Where Wonder Grows: Sanctuary” is on display at Mount Trashmore Park, featuring thousands of moving elements and forms, including flowers, birds and butterflies.
The native Australian brought his passion for immersive artwork to Rosemont Forest, Glenwood, White Oaks and Trantwood elementary schools. He also led a teacher workshop and visited Tallwood High School and Renaissance Academy.
He guided students in constructing kinetic butterflies like the ones featured in the park.
“I want you to have fun,” he told the Rosemont Elementary art club. “Be joyous and discover something new.”
“Many colorful butterflies don’t actually have a color,” Athanasiou explained. Their wings are like optical filters that when exposed to light, undergo a color change.
Nature uses light to create color, he added.
Athanasiou dimmed the overhead lights and demonstrated an example of the butterfly they were about to create.
As the wings moved, various colors illuminated on the classroom’s ceiling amid students’ oohs and aahs.
Then came time to construct their own, using kits that included cutouts of two black paper butterfly wings.
They glued pieces of optical filters onto each wing and inserted them into a clear pouch to be laminated.
The wings were trimmed and attached to a stick with a mechanism to allow them to open and shut.
The finished product mimicked a fluttering butterfly.
White Oaks fifth grader Sir Saulsberry’s eyes lit up.
“I was surprised at how fun this was,” he said. “I’m going to show it to my family.”
He and his classmates transformed the art classroom into a large colorful butterfly garden, lifting the creations up in the air and making the wings go up and down.
Athanasiou seemed pleased with the results.
He has a doctorate in chemistry and taught the subject before merging his love of science and art to form Skunk Control.
The art collective brings together artists, engineers, scientists and educators who combine nature, light, color, optics and movement to create engaging art experiences for communities.
Sharing knowledge through outreach is an important part of bringing the project to Virginia Beach, Athanasiou said.
“When you can pull your sleeves up and help, do it,” he said.
VBCPS Visual Fine Arts Instructional Specialist Rebecca Davidson coordinated the school visits with Anita Zia from the city’s Cultural Affairs Department.
“We brought ‘Where Wonder Grows: Sanctuary’ to Virginia Beach to inspire a sense of wonder, creativity and connection within our community,” Zia said.
Davidson said the experience was invaluable for students because it connected art to other subject areas.
“The knowledge gained makes such a lasting impression,” she said.
Rosemont Forest art teacher Pam Thompson said students benefited from the art experience.
“They got to meet a professional artist exhibiting in our community,” she said. “And the fact that it is STEM, that’s a bonus.”
The hands-on project tied in perfectly with her theme this year, “Art and Science,” said White Oaks art teacher Amber Crunk.
Crunk said it will be exciting for students to visit Mount Trashmore and see similar butterflies and more.
“It’s so powerful,” she said. “They are going to know the science behind it.”
“Where Wonder Grows: Sanctuary” at Mount Trashmore is free to the public and will be open through Dec. 16 during regular park hours, with special evening access. For more information visit Where Wonder Grows: Sanctuary | Virginia Beach Public Art.
