By Ginger DeShaney
The outdoor Recreation Station Art Series is back for its second season at the Pappas Way greenspace and it is drawing repeat customers.
Felicity and Sarah Cooper participated in art events last year and are excited for this year’s offerings. They participated in the fabric painting class with artist Susana McDonnell on a recent Saturday afternoon.
“It’s fun,” Felicity said. “We’re learning a new skill and get to be outside,” Sarah added.
The duo likes that the series exposes them to different types of art and materials. “The instructors are really great. It’s a nice setting by the water. There’s a breeze,” Sarah said. “They provide everything you need. It’s nice.”
Felicity and Sarah are hoping to participate in the next two sessions: a mosaic class with Emily Bhargava on Sept. 24 and a pottery class with Samantha Hoff (in collaboration with Southie business In Good Company) on Oct. 8.
“It’s so fun seeing people coming back,” said Samantha Bestvina, account manager for Isenberg Projects, which plans events at Pappas Way for Oxford Properties Group, the owner of the space. “It’s just nice to see familiar faces.”
The free public series “is all about giving back to the community and having an opportunity for folks to engage with local artists and be out on the space,” Samantha said. “It’s about bringing community together, providing opportunity for artists, and enjoying the green space that we have in Boston because it’s so limited.”
Oxford Properties provides all the necessary supplies for the participants as well as food and drinks (Saturday’s event featured sandwiches from American Provisions). Oxford also has free take-home fabric printing kits and instructions available in the Rec Station while supplies last.
Theresa Orr and John Kwon heard about the event through an email from the Rec Station. “I always wanted to try block printing,” Theresa said.
Added John, “I am not typically an artistic person. Anything that she does I like to join and be a part of. I also would say that typically I’m not really doing things like this outside, especially in beautiful weather; it’s a nice change of pace.”
The adults carved designs into rubber blocks; many of the participants were meticulous in their creations. Once the carvings were done, Susana led the aspiring artists in how to add ink to their blocks and how to place them on the fabric. They were beautiful works of art!
The kids’ activity consisted of stamping designs onto a bandana with beads and other materials.
Nat Moss is an art teacher and saw information about the event on Facebook. She had always wanted to try this art form. “I’m thrilled to be able to do this.”
Nat loves the setting and the sense of community this event brings. “It’s nice to be out.”
Sophia Wrinn, who is 4.5 years old, loves arts and crafts – and the Rec Station is her favorite place to be – so Christina and Eric Wirth had to bring her to the event.
“This is amazing,” Eric said.
Susana has her own home-based business called LinoCave, which is focused on block printing, mostly on fabric. “I love the magic of transforming a plain piece of fabric into my own unique and wearable creation,” she said.
For more information about Susana, visit her website: https://linocave.com/
To register for the next two sessions (or to be put on a wait list), visit https://pappasway.com/happenings
