By CarolinProft on Fri, Apr 18, 2008 8:51 am
Wheelock students were well
prepared on Friday when 78 kids from Otis
Elementary School hurried
through the main entrance where snacks and drinks awaited them. Instructor of
the Art Department and director of the Towne Art Gallery Erica Licea-Kane gives
them a first idea what the day would be like and why they are actually here.
“Our main idea is to give
children the possibility to get in touch with art so that they are able to
develop their skills and personalities,” says Erica Licea-Kane who works as a
professor at the College
Art Department.
After getting a Masters
Degree in Early Childhood Education at the Wheelock College,
Gary Silverstein thought children in Elementary Schools should develop a closer
relationship with art. Regrettably, he
passed away when he was 35 years old. A memorial art fund named after Gary
Silverstein was created on the one year anniversary of his death, in 1993.
Lang, one of the students
from Otis Elementary, admired the clouds in a painting hanging in the Towne Art
Gallery.. “We just don’t
have that much time at school to draw a lot of pictures with watercolors”. Lang's
classmates copied the pictures, painted by kids their age, who are students at
Boston Public Schools.
Next door, students were instructed
to draw about their experiences from that morning and just two seconds later
most of them were immersed in their work. Wheelock student Rebecca is one of
the girls who helped to get this day organized. As a visual Art student she
knows how much art education is needed in public schools: “I am going to be an
art therapist for children and adults. Art helps to handle stress and the daily
life.” Rebecca herself turned from a shy girl into a very enthusiastic young
woman when her neighbor introduced her to the world of art: “I didn’t even like
to hear my name. But now, look at me. I enjoy my life and the people around
me.”
Wheelock College welcomes
Public School students to come by and admire the work of their peers. The gallery is open to the public, but the
exhibit ends April 18th.