Dandelion Education Discussion Blog: Our ceiling space

hey all:
in addition to imagining uses for our floor and wall spaces - both organizational/practical and creative/imaginative - i mentioned at our last meeting the idea of installing some kind of hanging mechanism in our space to make better use of the high ceilings we have.

i believe the addition should be fun and playful, but I also want to make sure that things we hang in the space are secure and safe, and out of reach of the kids - i don't know for sure, but i think this would mean that we drill anchors into the ceiling (rather than, say, applying adhesive), and use hardware that we know the rating of (e.g. how much weight it can hold, etc.), as well as hang stuff clear of electrical fixtures and heat sources (i'm thinking of radiators, which we don't have, but vents might be a concern) I don't know about these things, so perhaps we could talk to Doug about SA's concerns, determine costs and proceed to establishing a budget, etc. if we're all game. (i think it simplifies things since we don't want to run electricity through anything.)

In the meantime, I wanted to share some pie-in-the-sky ideas about what we might do if we gain access to such space. My first thought was a seasonal/monthly group co-op project: in addition to the individual work kids do, we also occasionally do collaborative stuff (I'm thinking of the rainbow Airin and Meg devised) - it would be great to have a sculptural space to attach this to; perhaps like an Alexander Calder mobile.

photo by Herbert Matter

We could get real artsy like this (below; and see link)

installation by Regine Ramseier

and/or we could (carefully) bind together materials we find on outings - lighter things like fallen branches, leaves in netting, etc. - or stick paper creations together on some kind of simple structure - cut-paper snowflakes or butterflies, food-colored coffee filters, feathers, balloons, etc.

It could also be cool to have a few simple structures we could use at various times, like a rectangular/octangular/circular frame with clear netting, a long stick/broom-handle drilled with holes and/or hooks and/or eyelets, a bunch of flexible/reusable wire... Anyway, food for thought. and here's some more stuff below.