April 8, 2004

Art from the heart
Simonds School celebrates a year of creative inspiration

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

Marbleized paper, clay architecture, cubist portraits, plaster masks and geometric trains were among the many exhibits that filled the Simonds’ Elementary School cafeteria on March 30 for a gallery of “Art From the Heart, ”the culmination of their annual PTA sponsored Art Vistas program.

Art Show chairperson and Art Vista coordinator Linda Klein was delighted with the event, which included a unique, interactive trivia game that encouraged children to go through the entire exhibit for clues. Once completed, they then qualified for hourly gift basket drawings. “Instead of just coming in for a treat, they have to actually go around and see the other children’s artwork,” Klein said.

A fifth grade architectural lesson in clay was the newest addition to the program this year, thanks to a five-year grant from Cultural Initiatives of Silicon Valley. In addition to art supplies and music textbooks, the $10,000 per year grant has enabled the school to purchase a new kiln to accommodate the firing of 100 additional pieces that allowed for representation of three-dimensional lessons at every grade level.

According to Klein, fifth graders were delighted with the addition. “The children told us clay was their most favorite project,” she said. “So, along with Julie Ulmer from Cultural Initiatives, we put together a lesson plan incorporating architecture from Frank Lloyd Wright and Julia Morgan. The houses are so exciting. You bring up architecture to the fifth graders and bring in a woman architect who is the first castle phenomenon—and you instill in them that this may be something they might want to do when they get older.”

Music contributed a second sensory element to the exhibit, with student musicians performing throughout the evening under the guidance of teacher Teri Bermudas and music instructor Darlene Dueck. “It’s another part of the art program,” explained Klein. “All the children at this school get music and there’s also a band program on Thursday evenings.”

Hands-on stations featuring clay, shrinky-dinks, face painting, and block painting—compliments of Gwen Anderson and four “artists in action” from Castillero Middle School—kept kids busy creating while parents mingled among the artwork, using extra supplies ordered at the beginning of the year for the Art Vistas Program and putting them to creative use throughout the evening. “I really like to use this event to give these back to the children,” said Klein.

Celebrating its third year, the art show, according to first grade teacher Celeste Politoski couldn’t have happened without Klein’s guidance. “She’s the whole reason why we have this program here,” Politiski said. “The grant is nice and all that, but it can’t be done without the support of the parents. Linda has just been phenomenal, taking on a bigger chunk every year to make more art happen.”

“It’s not just one person,” Klein argued. “It’s a whole group that puts this together. You have to have your volunteer base.”