Pinwheels for Peace, an annual event that is observed internationally, was also carried out by students at the Park Avenue Elementary School in Mount Gilead on September 21, 2015. This project has been a part of the Park Avenue School’s program for many years where it has been coordinated each year by Robin Conrad, art teacher.
This International Art and Literacy Project involved the planting of the Pin Wheels for Peace with messages of peace. This year, because of inclement weather. the Pinwheels were planted inside the building.
Each pinwheel held a message of peace. The pinwheels were created during students’ art class. They are of all shapes and sizes which the students draw and color to visually express their feelings about peace
They then assemble them and on International Day of Peace, they “plant” them as a public statement and art exhibit/installation.
This project began in 2005 by two art teachers, Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan of Coconut Creek, Florida, as a way for students to express their feelings about what’s going on in the world and in their lives.
The groups have grown from 1,325 locations that first year to over 3,500 locations with four million pin wheels.Termed non-political peace doesn’t have to be associated with the conflict of war and it can be related to violence/intolerance in daily lives, to peace of mind.
Conrad said it comes down to a simple definition: “A state of calm and serenity with no anxiety, the absence of violence, freedom from conflict or disagreement among people or groups of people.”
Evelyn Long is a correspondent with the Morrow County Sentinel and can be reached at [email protected].
