Don’t be alarmed if you see a huge butterfly fluttering at Ball O’Brien Park this summer. Island resident Sue Black has been pushing for a fiber art installation that will be a collaboration between a New York artist and the entire Block Island community.
The project, coined “On Island Fiber Arts: The Making of a Butterfly,” was originally planned as a collaboration between the eighth grade Roots and Wings program and fiber artist Naomi Lawrence. Roots and Wings is a two-part program that has been conducted for many years on Block Island. The first part is a retreat for the kids in a “secret place” on the island, where they explore their roots. Later the students visit New York City — a first-time trip for many of them, where they explore their wings.
“One of our biggest risk factors is social isolation on the island. This trip helps to get students to new environments. It has grown into a school program, not just wellness for the school, but an actual program. It’s doing service work, connecting with people who live there, learning how to navigate – spreading their wings,” said Black.
