Edgewood Students’ Art BLOOMs

Edgewood School seventh-grader Rya imagined a green cat, a purple moon, and yellow eyeball, then put a marker to paper.

Rya’s project was put on display along with several other student pieces at Edgewood Avenue’s BLOOM community center Thursday for a celebration of Hispanic heritage.

Rya’s master piece on display was much like herself; colorful, random, and detailed, she said. The class’s projects were inspired by the Spanish painter Joan Miró. They used lines, shapes, bright colors, and symbols to create their designs.

BLOOM Owner Alisha Crutchfield-McLean partnered with Edgewood art teacher Deborah Platt to bring the whimsical art show together Thursday. The Edgewood School community joined with dozens of BLOOM regulars to view the student art and learn about Hispanic heritage.

Thursday was not the first time Rya had her art put on display in a gallery. She described her piece on display at BLOOM as a ​“freestyle” of whatever came to her mind at the time.

Her mom Caryl Williams was proud to see her daughter’s art in a fifth art show, this time right in their neighborhood, a block from the school.

Williams recalled the mom and daughter time spent with Rya making art as a toddler. She would buy brushes, canvases, and paint from the dollar store and make art with her daughter using nonconventional tools from home. ​“Those days of keeping busy paid off,” Williams said.

Crutchfield-McLean partnered with Edgewood School to host its first-ever art show. She redecorated what is normally BLOOM’s lounge area with art samples from students in grades kindergarten through eighth.

Students led their parents straight to their art pieces while visiting the gallery, posing or pictures with their art and excitedly pointing at their classmates’ projects.

At the start of the school year, Crutchfield-McLean reached out to Edgewood hoping to partner with its students. The partners scrapped their idea to do a fundraiser and instead focused on ​“exhilarating the community about youth talent.”

“To see complete innocence through the eyes of a child is educational too,” former BLOOM employee Peter Berta said.

Platt has been an art teacher for more than 20 years, 18 of them in New Haven. She organized this school year into themes for her K‑8 classes. Learning about Hispanic heritage was the first theme.

“It’s necessary for them to know how rich the history is,” she said.

After finishing up Hispanic heritage, Platt plans to teach the students about Native American art. Crutchfield-McLean promised to do another art show displaying more of the students’ art projects.

At the start of the projects, Platt presented research to each of the classes. She used slide shows, videos, and sample pieces of the art types to educate the students.

The partnership with BLOOM showed the students and the community the benefits of art. ​“It enhances, beautifies, and expresses,” Platt said.

Each grade focused on different projects, including Inca art, Vejigante masks, Fernando Oliver- inspired art, Aztec suns, Mexican folk paintings, Frida Kahlo portraits, and Joan Miro-inspired art. Most of the projects took several class periods for the students to complete.

“It’s great someone is listening to the children’s art, because it usually says a lot about them,” Platt said.

Mother Lani Rosa brought her 6‑year-old Ben to see his portrait of Frida Kahlo on display at the gallery. It was the family’s first time in BLOOM after wanting to visit since it opened.

Ben recalled the hard work of coloring in Frida’s black hair and shirt. ​“Coloring it all was kind of hard,” he said. Seeing the final product on display made him feel good, he said.

First grader Evelyn Burner also said making the Frida portrait had its challenges. The hardest task of them all: using so much black. ​“I like color.”

Eighth grader Carmela, 13, showed off her Inca-inspired metal embossing piece. Her class drew pieces of the sun god Inti and the creator of God Viracocha into foil, then embossed patterns, detailed features, and color into their pieces.

“This was my first time using foil to make art,” Carmela said.

Crutchfield-McLean describes BLOOM as a reimagined community center where New Haveners can ​“sip, chat, buy, meet, and greet” all in the same place.

Since its opening in July, BLOOM has sold grab-and-go flower bouquets to visitors daily and offered space to local entrepreneurs’ products. The center lends its two indoor and two outdoor spaces to be reimagined into event spaces for anyone from the community. It also sells the products of local artists and of organizations that promote uplift.

“When you come to BLOOM, there’s a story behind the things,” Crutchfield-McLean said.

So far the space has hosted a micro-wedding, birthday parties, a couple’s dinner experience, a baby shower. In the near future Alisha hopes to host wellness and financial workshops for the community, lite bites, and afternoon teas.

She also plans to continue showcasing student talent in the community, she said.

During the Thursday gallery show BLOOM also hosted the nonprofit Collab for its first in-person gathering with its ninth venture cohort.

Venture manager George Black planned the lunch to help the eight business owners meet in person, network, and talk about more than just their businesses at the casual Thursday gathering. ​“This allows for them to be entrepreneurs and more,” he said.