Trash becomes art at Greek Orthodox church

Recycled magazines are among the materials Kimisis Art Program students turn into art at Kimisis Tis Theotokou, a Greek Orthodox church in Holmdel. PHOTOS BY SUSAN ENGLISIS

BYMIKE DAVIS
Staff Writer
28/12/2011

Youths in Kimisis art program make sculptures from recyclables.

HOLMDEL — At Kimisis Tis Theotokou, children are playing with garbage, using recyclable materials as the medium to create vivid art sculptures.

“Go home and find things you would normally toss away,” Susan Englisis, director of the KimisisArt Program, told the students, all between 8 and 15 years old.

“It’s fabulous to see them take nothing and make it into something.”

Englisis said she was astounded by the sculptures her students created in just three months of this year’s art program.

One girl used cans and yogurt cups to create a robot, while others used folded magazines to create baskets and ceiling hangings.

“The kids are learning all about recycling in school. I go with the trend of the education system. I like to keep up with it. It’s a really great opportunity for them to see what to do with leftover materials and recyclables,” Englisis said in a Dec. 15 interview.

“I’m trying to expose them to everything. The time is right to teach them something at length about recycling and what you can do with your imagination.”

She said the program, now in its ninth year, started in 2003 with 24 students and has steadily grown ever since. Each year’s program ends with a trip to a well-known art museum, including the Metropolitan Museum ofArt or Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

This year, the Kimisis Art Program will visit the Grounds for Sculpture, in Hamilton.

“They’ll get to see a lot of three-dimensional construction of recycled materials,” Englisis said.

Each year’s program also has a specific theme that she develops over the summer.

“It’s an enrichment program. Since we’re a Greek Orthodox Church, I try to incorporate something about their heritage into the projects,” she said.

“The mind is always churning for ideas for the kids.”

A few years ago, the program centered around Homer’s epic poem, “The Odyssey.” One year’s projects involved modernizing ancient Greek fashions, like making fashion boards and designing drapes, and many years have included learning about mythology.

Englisis said the children are always wary when it comes to sculpting, but that they gradually become comfortable with the art.

“From the first day, I’ve taught them that there’s no such thing as bad art. I look at it and see something, but they may look at it and see it differently. It’s art in your own eyes. When I address it in that way, it becomes a little less difficult for them,” she said.

Englisis said her favorite moments come at the end of each year, when the children see their finished products go on a display in a “very professional” gallery showing at the church.

“I just love the finishing. I love to see their faces when they’ve actually completed a project. They know they’ve done it. Their confidence is lifted. I think it’s important through life,” she said.

“Your life is like clay. You start out not knowing what to do with it, and you kind of mold it as you go along. And then you hopefully get something great at the end.”

For more information about Kimisis Tis Theotokou Greek Orthodox Church, visit kimisis.com.

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