Del Nero’s workshop, Junk Mail Fish, was born from a request by the Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy in 2012, now known as ShoreRivers, to create an art project to complement their environmental science curriculum. Del Nero designed a STEAM project that taught children about the importance of reusing and recycling, explained the basic anatomy of a fish, and led them on a creative journey to design their own fish and collage it with unwanted paper materials. STEAM is the acronym that stands for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics and represents a group of core subjects deemed most significant for 21st century learning. To date, over 1500 local schoolchildren have participated in the program.
In 2016, Del Nero offered a Junk Mail Fish workshop at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. Parents and children worked side by side on their fish. Del Nero wrote an article about the experience, which appeared in the June 2017 issue of “Arts and Activities,” the nation’s leading art education magazine.
Upon selection of Junk Mail Fish for the 2018 NAEA National Convention, Kathy Duse, NAEA Executive Services and Convention and Programs Manager, commented, “NAEA received over 1,700 presentations this year; selection relied upon scoring criteria for the blind peer review and selection process. The peer review process ensure[d] each proposed presentation receive[d] three separate blind reviews that employ[ed] careful thought and consideration in terms of Statement of Purpose and Outcomes, Organization of Content, Relevance of Topic, and Impact on Practice. The caliber of this year’s presentations was excellent—making the acceptance of 801 sessions (approximately 45%) highly competitive.”
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~ Academy Art Museum