Pop a couple quarters into most vending machines, and you might get some chips or a snack. But at Glenfield Middle School, the Tiny Art Machine vends something special: original student artwork.
Glenfield visual arts teacher Amy Cohen was seeking a platform for her students to share their work with the public, so she applied for and was awarded an Educational Excellence Grant last year from the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence.
Middle school students create small, flat artworks that can be sold in the machine, which was originally designed for stickers and tattoos. Each work of art sells for 50 cents and proceeds go to the Glenfield art department to help pay for extra tools and supplies.
Cohen unveiled the Tiny Art Machine last spring at Glenfield’s end-of-year art festival, and it was a big success.
“We stocked it with over 100 artworks, and they sold out!” Cohen said. “Students were excited to see what they got, and peer on the back to see who made it. Students were trading artworks like baseball cards, and there was a long line to use the machine.”
After seeing the Tiny Art Machine in action, Cohen said students are even more excited to take part. Those who visit Glenfield can find the machine near the school’s front office, and Cohen replenishes the machine with new art when stock gets low. All students can contribute creations.
“Knowing that their work is going into the machine to be purchased by a member of the public gives the students a sense of pride in their work that they may not have gotten to experience before,” Cohen said. “I hope to build on the initial momentum and keep the machine going!”
This isn’t the first tiny art in town. Montclair High School art teacher Brienne Kvetkus previously wrote an MFEE grant for a button machine that allows students to create one-of-a-kind wearable art. Her students create buttons based on current topics or just in their extra time in class. She said making them can be a moment of escape and it reinforces the idea of letting go of your work for others to enjoy.
“Everyone loves buttons, and it's better when you know that yours is handmade! It also allows students to get a taste of what it's like being an ‘art collector’," Kvetkus said.
The button machine goes on display in the lobby of the MHS Annex for the first School of Visual and Performing Arts (SVPA) performance, and it lives there for the rest of the year. Kvetkus is thrilled to see the success of Glenfield’s initiative, too, and hopes to see more tiny art in other Montclair schools in the future. Check out some of the awesome MHS student work on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mhs_artbuttons.
“We love when MFEE grants spark connections and allow teachers to bring their creative ideas to life,” said Masiel Rodriquez-Vars, MFEE’s executive director.
Each year, MFEE awards approximately $60,000 in grants to MPS teachers, staff members and para-educators in three areas: classroom innovation, social and emotional learning and professional development. Educators can apply now through Oct. 25.
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