We are now working with 13 agencies state-wide with our "basecamp" studio nestled at Somerville's Artisan's Asylum. TRACK’s roots:
In the Spring of 2009, Co-founder Marina Seevak met Maine artist, Rob Logan, at one of his popular art card workshops in the basement of Redbones in Davis Square, Somerville. Her “never-sit-still” 9 year old son begged to go see Rob each time he was in town and was al
ways first in line to perch next to Rob and draw. Marina became intrigued watching her son stay so focused and engaged doing art cards week after week. Not to mention her amazement at how the mile high pile of art cards he made and traded with Rob became one of his most treasured possessions and never got lost. Rob was inspiring, art cards were simple but exciting, and Marina’s son, and all the other kids, loved their time creating them. Marina knew Rob was on to something with art cards and her ideas started percolating. Later that year, Marina brought Rob to her annual block party to share the excitement of art cards with her neighbors. She also invited Jenna Alderton, an accomplished artist and teacher, to meet Rob and see the power of kids making these small works of art and to get her involved in bringing them to a wider community of kids. Immediately Jenna caught the Art Card fever and wanted to learn more. That night she went home and started doing her own research on the artist trading card movement. She was astounded to see how many inspiring projects people were producing on this tiny, 2½” by 3½” medium. The concept for a program like TRACK began paving its way shortly thereafter. With the help of a few enthusiastic kids, Jenna facilitated casual, after-school Art Card workshops. The idea was simple: create a safe and fun environment for kids to be creative, build social skills and share their work. What started as a Thursday night activity grew as word about Art Cards continued to spread. Given her background working in therapeutic milieus in Detroit, Chicago and Boston, Jenna also realized what a powerful tool Art Cards could be for building self-esteem and pro-social skills for kids who needed explicit social teaching. It was obvious that kids were engaged in something meaningful that was both fun and exciting. Kids who previously didn’t feel like artists suddenly felt like their art mattered. Kids who didn’t have friends started to learn what it meant to be a good friend while sharing supplies, helping others brainstorm creative ideas and by trading Art Cards. Fueled by these positive outcomes, Jenna hit the road with the power of Art Card workshops and TRACK was born!
