Cultivating Natural Artists

November 7, 2025
“The school must be a genuine form of active community life, instead of a place set apart in which to learn lessons.” ~John Dewey

Here at Parker, we believe that partnerships within our community are essential to helping children reach their maximum potential. In partnering with outside experts in their field, we ensure that the diverse set of knowledge and skills present in our community will be seen and valued. We also show our students that everyone has a role to play in learning, solving problems and contributing to our school community. Connection increases learning opportunities and shared responsibility in working together towards our goals. This allows us to build a school community that promotes inclusion and enhances learning outcomes.
One shining example of the powerful outcomes community partnerships can bring is playing out across our K-8th grade art curriculum this year. Early this fall, students in Kindergarten through 8th grade partnered with Parker parent and botanist Jesse Hoffman to harvest materials from Parker’s campus that would facilitate art projects specific to each class. The results were multiple uniquely signature and enthusiastically engaging hands-on learning experiences that made indelible impressions on our young students.
Jesse’s work with our students began this fall when he partnered with Parker art teacher Claire Sherwood to help realize her vision of using our natural campus resources to create dyes. As Claire explains, “Ever since I started at Parker, I’ve been inspired by our property and invested in figuring out how we can wrap art making into the natural resources we have here on our grounds. In my first year, we did an Andy Goldsworth inspired “Art in Nature” project that led us to searching for clay deposits and examining plants. Since then, I have been thinking about how to use these raw materials to create pigments for use in class.” Claire goes on to explain that she met Jesse at Parker’s Day in the Life of the Hudson event several years ago. “He sat in on my art lesson, and we started talking about his job as a plant scientist and his interest in art. That led to a conversation on natural ink making, so I immediately started thinking about how to involve him in my work here at Parker.”
On a glorious fall day back in September, Jesse joined Claire and her artists during their class times and led them on nature hikes where they identified and gathered plants they could use to make natural inks. Together, they spent time collecting wild grapes, black chokeberry, pokeberry, buckthorn, and acorn caps. The kids learned which species were native, and which were invasive. They also learned about how invasive plants can actually be used for positive purposes like creating beautiful inks. Once back in the classroom, our artists worked with Claire to crush, mash, pulverize, strain, and boil their gathered goodies to create homegrown Parker hues. Students then enjoyed experimenting with the added “magical” science of adjusting the pH level of the dyes through various means and observing how the colors change from their natural states.
In the weeks since then, our artists have used their homemade inks to experiment with how they work as a medium. Kindergarteners enjoyed free painting and noticing how the colors interacted and mixed. First and second graders created scientific illustrations and then used their dyes to illuminate the plants from which they came. Third and fourth graders used their inks to learn batik printing, ultimately turning their designs into pillows. Finally, after doing a more extensive color study, our middle school dove into an examination of how pigments are made. They were particularly fascinated by different mixing particulates, which ultimately directed their work on a more involved project to design, create, and mix their own paint palettes. Claire’s hope is that she can convince students to actually USE these beloved palettes to create plein air paintings around Parker’s canvas.
Experiences like these with invested community members like Jesse elevate our school and community. One impactful thing we can do as a school is show our students that someone else has knowledge to share. Children see that reflected often in our classrooms, where they each come in with their own knowledge and then co-create learning together. However, when our faculty takes the opportunity to spotlight another adult that they can learn from, this models for our students that learning is never done…you can continue to grow and learn from other people for the rest of your life.