The Vermont Arts Council has launched its largest community art project ever.

Vermonters around the state are turning thousands of wooden artists’ palettes into paintings, sculptures, musical instruments and other works of art.

“Some of them are whimsical and humorous, some are serious, and some are landscape-y and some are just bizarre,” said Alexander Aldrich, executive director of the Vermont Arts Council. “It’s just a wonderful catalog of creative output.”

The state launched the Palettes of Vermont project in January. Since then, the Vermont Arts Council has given away nearly 7,000 wooden palettes produced by the Vermont Wood Makers Association and 30,000 paper palettes.

Dozens of communities and 142 schools are taking part.

Folk artist Warren Kimble, a council trustee, came up with the idea after creating three community art projects in Brandon.

“The really exciting thing is the way this project is bringing people together,” said Diane Manion Scolaro, communications and development director.

The city of St. Albans hopes to create the world’s largest palette. The Guinness Book of World Records said the 12-by-16-foot feat is a first, said Karen Bresnahan, executive director of St. Albans for the Future, a downtown revitalization group.

On Saturday, around 50 people stopped by a city park to help paint the palette covered with images of trains, a city fountain and agricultural landscape.

The palette made its debut Monday in the city’s Memorial Day parade.

Bristol and Waitsfield also have built large-scale palettes.

And Bennington is “paletteville,” said Scolero. The town is filled with more than 50 palettes on display in stores and businesses.

The Burlington Taiko drummers are using the palettes as fans in their performances and the Kitchen Sync Cloggers have turned them into percussion instruments.

From now until October, more than 200 palette-related activities are scheduled around the state.

And on June 16, the council has invited all participants to display their work on the Statehouse lawn.

“The Palette Palooza on the Statehouse lawn is probably going to be only time that we’re going to have such an open invitation to have all the artists together … to just bask in this creative output,” Aldrich said.

On the Net:

www.vermontartscouncil.org/palettes

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