These are some of the Sense of Wonder Creations community service projects.

Universal Peace and Justice Mural: This is a mural about 8 by 11 feet that took six high school students approximately 100 plus hours to plan, prepare and paint at a local hospital waiting room. It is a collage of portraits, painted in acrylic paint, of a male and female from each continent who have influenced peace and justice in the world as well as images of indigenous animals, trees, vegetation and architecture. The portraits are of Martin Luther King Jr, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mother Theresa, Lech Walesa, Mahatma Ghandi, Aung San Suu Kyi, Dame Whinia Cooper, Nainoa Thompson, Nelson Mandela, Wangari Mathaai, Chico Mendez and Rigaberta Menchu. During the time the students were painting they had the opportunity to express their love and care for the people at the hospital. The interaction between the students, patients, nurses, doctors and other employees nurtured the students’ self-esteem and confidence and the patients, nurses and doctors were able to see how compassionate, kind, caring and giving young people can be. While the students were using their talents and improving their skills, they also gained knowledge and were inspired by the people they were painting.  
2002-03

A representational mural of Martha’s Vineyard at the local hospital about 35 feet long designed and painted by seven high school students with the similar experiences as the previous mural.
2001

An abstract and representational mural of nature scenes, animals and imaginary creatures on a long cement wall at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Vineyard Haven. It is 78 feet long and was painted to help prevent graffiti in 1997. The paint started to peel and come off so was recently whitewashed over.
The students in the Sense of Wonder 6th, 7th and 8th grade art class are currently painting a 12 x 8 foot section of the same wall with images of Tisbury and Oak Bluffs. The mural is being painted on panels in the SoW studio and will be varnished over and framed when finished. This will help it to be more weather resistant and durable. Another section will be painted during the Fall and Spring of 2010-11.

Many educational murals on thick paper approximately 8 feet by 12 feet long, some of which have hung in the local Vineyard Haven library. The themes and topics of the murals have been Martha’s Vineyard, Temperate Forests, The Rainforest, Oceans, Ponds, the Arctic, Antarctica, Plant Life, Animals and Environmental Awareness and Education.

Film on peace and justice Summer Camp 2002: 20 children aged 7-12 drew and painted images, wrote poetry and stories, wrote a song, choreographed a dance, acted out real life situations, and discussed their deepest feelings related to peace while four 13 year old Counselors in Training filmed them and then edited the film. It took about 26 hours of one week to complete the project. It provided an opportunity for the young people to think about, discuss, understand more clearly, express and create peace. In the summer of 2003 we did a similar film.

Numerous creative and imaginary Plays, Puppet Shows and  Films with a social and environmentally conscious theme.

Creation of large papier mache’ animals of up to 5 feet high and 8 feet long that are raffled off for the benefit of endangered species. Colorful and representational elephant, dolphin, giraffe, shark, hummingbird with trumpet flower, manatee, panda bear, penguin, osprey carrying a striped bass. The campers also papier machéed a garbage can to look like a frog for a recycling container. Raffle tickets for the Osprey carrying the Striped Bass are currently for sale.  Please call 508 693 3142 if you would like to purchase a ticket. The drawing will be on August 13th, 2010.

We have painted many 4x8 foot canvas murals to send to Children’s Orphanages and Schools as a cultural exchange project. We have sent the murals to Japan, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Cambodia and Haiti

Each year since 1995 we have directed volunteer creative Arts and Crafts Workshops with children who are HIV positive at the local Safe Haven Camp. The young people have created  beautiful Masks, Puppets, a portable 8x12 foot Mural
on plywood, and paintings of their design about love and community, all kinds of Boats, Paste Papers and Mosaics.

Creative arts exchange and interactive games with Camp Jabberwocky, a local cerebral palsy summer camp.

SoW students and counselors have done Face Painting for numerous local non-profit organizations’ fund raising events.

SoW Campers and Counselors have visited Windemere, a local nursing home, to sing to the residents. They also worked along side of the residents making clay creations and painting with watercolor.

SoW high school students drew portraits of prominent African American writers, musicians, educators and statesman and hung them in the windows of downtown Tisbury businesses to celebrate African American History month.

We decorated pottery bowls to sell for the benefit of the Tisbury School fifth grade sailing trip for a week on the Shenandoah, a traditional 108 foot wooden topsail schooner.

SoW High School students painted and decorated two store windows related to the celebration of the 20th and 24th anniversaries of Earth Day.

We have facilitated art workshops and donated art materials, books and clothing to developing countries: Bequia, West Indies; Peru and Cuba.

Film with  MVRHS Students called “It’s Our World Too”
2003-05:
SoWC Director Pam Benjamin and Co Director Wesley Look spent many months videotaping High School students expressing their deepest feelings, hopes, dreams, aspirations and concerns on the topics of peace and justice. We encouraged students to express themselves however they felt most comfortable and inspired.
The visions address issues at the High School, in the Community, the Iraq War, tolerance of different cultures and viewpoints, human rights and the environment. We offered the students an opportunity to express their visions of a future world where they and others could thrive in safety and happiness.
The final product is a "technical tapestry" woven together using threads from a variety of different mediums, perspectives and the student's creative process and dialogue. It will be released in the Spring of 2010.

The SoW campers and counselors recorded an awesome CD singing seven of their original humanitarian and environmentally conscious songs. Thank you Jim Parr for your hard work mixing and recording this master piece.  It will be released during the summer of 2010. The CD will be sold to benefit socially and environmentally conscious organizations. Please contact us via this website if you are interested in a copy of the CD.

For information of how you can make a donation for ongoing and future projects, please see the bottom of our Ongoing & Future Projects page.