Art at the Dump fills pressing need in classroom

CORNWALL — Art teacher Diane Dupuis ran her hand appreciatively over the new addition to her classroom. The new portable printing press is about to open up whole new directions for her students.She is just as thrilled with how she was able to buy it: using five years of donations gathered from the Art at the Dump show and sale. The show coincides with Earth Day each April. This will be the 12th year for the premier art show, which is like no other. Anyone from anywhere is welcome to get creative and submit work. There are only two rules: art must be made from recycled materials, and a third of any sale is donated to the Cornwall Consolidated School (CCS) art program. It has been steadily adding about $800 per year to a fund for “extras” such as the press.“The one I had my eye on was $5,000 and weighs 1,000 pounds,” Dupuis said. “A little too expensive and I wouldn’t be able to move it once it was in the classroom. That’s the Rolls Royce of presses. We got the Lexus, and I think it is going to serve us very well.”Dupuis has a grant from the CCS Fund for Excellence to spend a semester teaching nontoxic printmaking, and is hoping to involve local artists in the classroom. She is also involved with the after-school enrichment program and hopes to see the press utilized for an adult class.“It was the community that made buying a press possible, and they should be able to use it, too.”Art at the Dump originator Gail Jacobson is back from taking a break and excited about running the 12th annual show, especially now that there is a whole committee. Sand in the shed will be moved to make room for the show, she said. This was such a mild winter that there was more sand than usual left over. Art at the Dump is Saturday, April 21, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, April 22, 10 a.m. to noon, rain or shine.

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