Periwinkle is one tired Panda. He's resting on a rock after spending the afternoon splashing around in buckets of multi-colored paint, covering himself — and the bib overalls he's wearing — in splattered pigments of red, green, blue, orange, purple and pink.
"He's definitely one mischievous bear," said art teacher Lisa Foley, whose students at Hunters Woods Elementary School have conceived and painted one of the 150 pandas that will be installed in Washington, D.C. as part of a city-wide public art project called Panda Mania.
Periwinkle, so-named by the students because "it's a funky name and color," was painted last week at the school by a dozen hand-picked 6th graders, chosen for their artistic talent and creativity.
The students were involved in every step of the process, from submitting the proposal to pouring bottles of paint over Periwinkle's head last Thursday.
"It's all very hands-on for the kids," Foley said. "They've been working really hard on all aspects of this."
THE HUNTERS WOODS students' proposal was one of 150 applications out of 1,400 that were approved. The pandas, half of which are sitting and half of which are standing, will be installed next month.
Periwinkle's eyes and baby-blue bib overalls were carefully colored with weather-resistant paint and epoxy early last week. In his right paw, he is holding a paint bucket — also covered in a mixture of color — and his back pocket holds a paintbrush with the school's initials carved into it.
The painted panda project is the sequel to the "Party Animals" project of 2002, in which the D.C. Commission on Arts and Humanities placed thematically painted donkeys and elephants around the District, representing the mascots of Democrats and Republicans.
Like the Party Animals display, the pandas will be placed in high-traffic areas such as hotels, tourist attractions and near Metro stops, said Alexandra MacMaster, the project's manager.
"It will bring a bit of the unexpected to the city," she said. "You won't know what you'll see when you turn a corner."
Pandas were selected as the theme because of the famous panda exhibit at the National Zoo.
"They're Washington's famous little starlets," MacMaster said.
Also like the Party Animals project, the painted pandas will eventually be auctioned off to fund arts grants and educational programs. The 200 elephants and donkeys that were sold two years ago raised $1 million.
PART OF THE LEARNING experience for the students, said Hunters Woods Principal Stephen Hockett, is the community service side of the project.
"They're having a great time doing this, but they're also helping kids elsewhere have that same experience — it's teaching them community service," said Hockett, who helped pour a bit of yellow paint on Periwinkle Thursday afternoon.
Similarly, Hunters Woods art students created a collage after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that captured their anxiety and fears. That work was donated to the Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C. and resides in the lobby, seen by sick and injured children who are often feeling the same emotions.
But last Thursday, the ideals of community service were set aside as the paint began to fly. After an hour of pouring, spattering and dripping multi-colored paint, Periwinkle was finally finished.
"This is the greatest thing about being an elementary school educator," Hockett said. "You get to see them really working hands-on."
The Hunters Woods students involved in the project are Prince Jindal, Civia Stein, Jen Dussault, Bryan Crespin, Mynor Celis, Ava Driscoll, Tasha Babiarz, Amy Hirabayashi, Jae Sim, Waveny Hudlin, Adomna Noni Huria, Lanxing Fu, Maggie Morris and Lauren Quast.