Piece by Piece Art Opening at Bergamot Station

Chad's piece that sold!

I’ve talked about Piece by Piece a couple of times in past blog postings. They’re the organization that teaches mosaic techniques to low income and homeless people in the Los Angeles area. I have donated glass to them and a good friend of mine, Leigh Adams teaches for them. Well, they had their first juried show held at the James Gray Gallery at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, CA. Bergamot Station is a complex of many galleries and to have a show there is a very prestigious event. I went to a Chihuly show there once and was able to get his autograph, but that’s a whole other story.

The show was awesome and extremely well attended. There were a number of openings going on last night at Bergamot Station. I wandered over to some of the other galleries but nothing compared to the Piece by Piece show. And the work was selling. This is the first time most of these artists have been in a gallery show. So fabulous!!

Lots of Americans seem to think that May 5 is Mexican Independence Day, but that holiday actually falls on Sept. 16.

May 5 is the celebration of the Battle of Puebla, in which the Mexicans defeated the French in 1862. Independence Day marks the beginning of their fight for independence from Spain in 1810. That was the day of what’s known as El Grito de Dolores, or the cry of Dolores, for when the Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the church bells at his church in Dolores and declared that Mexico should be free from Spanish rule.

They would fight for their freedom until 1821 when they finally gained independence.

Fabulous Classroom has a little of the history and ideas for celebrating the holiday for all age groups. There’s also a link to a good video in that post about the real story of Mexican Independence Day.

Twinkl also has a good tops about the history and different activities, discussion ideas, crafts and foods that can be incorporated into lessons at school or used at home.

I also found a few pins that no longer link to a website but include good information on Mexican Independence Day, including some questions for students to answer based on the reading. You can find more printables and questions for kids from TX Homeschool Mama on Etsy (also available in Spanish).

You can find a lot more paid resources about Mexican Independence Day at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Mexican flag crafts are a fun option for celebrating Mexican Independence Day (though the current iteration of their flag has only been in use since 1968). Kids Activities Blog has a free Mexican flag printable and a few different ideas for decorating it including dot markers and torn tissue paper.

You can also find some great Mexican crafts at Red Ted Art. The post includes all sorts of Mexican inspired projects including Day of the Dead crafts, Frida Kahlo pinatas and upcycled musical instruments. I love the giant paper flowers they shared from Honestly WTF.

Have you read?