Wow! What a busy couple of weeks! We had a lot of visitors here for spring break. Maybe not as many as we might have had if spring break was in April, but we have been very busy.

Ocracoke School's spring break began March 21 and the kids went back to school today. The week before spring break the students and teachers all participated in Arts Week. If you have been to Ocracoke or read anything about Ocracoke then you know that all types of art are popular here. Art is a big part of Ocracoke's culture. Ocracoke School has Arts Week every year. They invite artists to come and share their particular craft. There have been many types of art shared with the students and teachers over the years. At the end of the week there is an assembly. Parents and the community are invited to come meet the artists and see what they have been doing all week. It is always fun to see the outcome of Arts Week.

This year there were 4 different artists teaching 4 different crafts. Claire Senseney, a local artist, taught Raku Clay Pottery.  Merle Davis, also a local artist, taught Creative Cooking. Merle's son, Jubal Creech, taught about Recycled Wearable Art. (Jubal was here before to teach drumming which was a big favorite of my son who is a drummer.) Meghan Griffith taught Hip Hula-Hoop.

There were many different clay objects on display in the gym. These kids have incredible imaginations. There were figurines, pots, plates, bowls, pitchers, ashtrays and more. Claire is very good with the kids and they enjoyed her teachings.

The recycled art tables were filled with many interesting items. There were wallets, flowers and more made from different colors of duct tape. Bracelets and necklaces made with Matchbox cars and old washers. And, you guessed it, drums made from recycled materials.

During Merle's presentation on Creative Cooking she told us about the different foods that were prepared with the different age groups. Biscuits, omlettes, potato soup, different types of salsa and much more. Too bad they didn't have samples, only pictures.
 
The Hip Hula-Hoop seemed to have been enjoyed by all the different age groups. My daughter talked about this all week and showed me her bruises. She said she really had fun and everyone liked Meghan. They all really seemed to be having a great time as each group went up to demonstrate the craft. The hula-hoops were hand-made and decorated. There were different sizes and different looks. Each group seemed to enjoy them in a different way. They hula-hooped while walking, moving backward and forward, turning around and dancing. They also used different parts of their bodies...arms, legs, hips, neck, heads. The middle school boys created a game where each tried to make the other person drop their hula-hoop using only their hula-hoop. The older girls made up a dance that they performed with hula-hoops. Who knew hula-hoops could be used in so many different ways?

Below are some pictures of some of the pottery, recycled art and the high school girls hula-hooping! Hope you enjoy them and have a great day!