I AM NOT A BILLBOARD!
Make Your Own T-Shirt Workshop & Pizza Party with Hilltown Families
at The Art Garden in Shelburne Falls
Friday, Oct 14th from 4-6pm

Hilltown Families and The Art Garden will be offering a free Make Your Own T-Shirt Workshop & Pizza Party for families on Friday, October 14th from 4-6pm in Shelburne Falls. All are invited to come and create t-shirts with affirmative slogans and positive images of self-expression.  Bring an old t-shirt and repurpose it into your very own, one-of-a-kind design.

“With children’s clothes often donning corporate symbols and slogans, our kids are made into walking billboards for big corporations,” says Sienna Wildfield, Founding Director of Hilltown Families. “Fashion is just one of the many avenues corporate marketers utilize to market their brands to children, surprisingly, at a very young age.  Allowing children to embellish their own clothes with symbols and words that celebrate their individuality and intelligence is just one simple way families can counteract commercialization while fostering creativity and expressiveness.”

“Messages that communicate values on physical appearance, consumerism and gender stereotypes to our children are pervasive,” says Jess Kuttner, LICSW, Psychotherapist and mother of two boys. “The recent news of t-shirts sold by JCPenny with the slogan, ‘I’m too pretty to do homework, so my brother has to do it for me,’ is one example of how empty and degrading values are being marketed to our children.  Is it any wonder that there are epidemic numbers of kids and teens who bully each other and numb themselves with video games, TV, food and drugs? Giving children the opportunity to create their own t-shirts is a proactive way to counter corporate and negative messages while helping children focus on what is unique about themselves on a deeper level.”

On Friday, October 14th from 4-6pm, bring your kids to The Art Garden and allow them to create their own t-shirt.  Jane Wegscheider, Artistic Director of The Art Garden will show families how to use an assortment of materials and methods to create their own designs and unique messages. Bring your own t-shirt and choose from acrylic paints, fabric pens, stamps, embroidery thread, etc. to make your very own, one-of-a-kind, t-shirt that celebrates your individuality and intelligence.

“Rather than a t-shirt that says, ‘Allergic to Algebra,’ how about slogans that promote a willingness to learn, like “One Smart Cookie!” or “Math Rocks!” says Wildfield.

The Art Garden is located at 14 Depot Street in Shelburne Falls, MA (in the same building as the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum) . Click HERE for map.  All are welcomed to this free event. Slices of pizza donated ♥ by Country Pie Pizza of Ashfield will be available for $1 a slice while supplies last. For more information, contact Sienna Wildfield at hilltownfamilies@gmail.com, or call The Art Garden at 413-625-2782.