Project 350

Last week, Artist and Visual Arts Educator Linda Illumanardi, a resident of Altadena, volunteered her time to support the environmental group "350" at OCS. Illuminardi has provided the 7th/8th OCS students the opportunity to contribute individual painted panels to an art installation grid.

The environmental group is called 350 because its goal is to achieve 350 parts per million as a safe limit of the level of CO2 in the atmosphere. 350 has attracted authors, artists, dancers and many others to think creatively about solving the world's changing climate by instituting an International Day of Climate Change - Saturday, Oct 24.

After Illuminardi spent the morning at OCS with Mr. Lee in the computer lab explaining 350's global mission (see www.350.org), she gave 7th and 8th grade students paints, brushes and the wooden panels to paint. This week, Illumanardi and students will finish the project at OCS, then the 53 panels will be transported to Zinnia, an art store and gallery space at 1024 Mission Street, South Pasadena.

Parents and the OCS community are ALL invited to the opening on Saturday, October 24 at 3:50 pm (follow links from www.350.org>People>Artists... then scroll down and click on Zinnia for more information) at Zinnia. A total of 350 finished panels (painted by other artists as well as OCS students) will be hung in a grid on display at Zinnia. Joining other artists and activists in the community and around the world, students' work will be photographed and placed in an international display of these photos in Times Square in NYC.

Ms. Illumanardi wishes to extend her thanks to the administration, students, faculty, and especially to parents, for the extra work, time, and effort provided in assisting her with this project.