As an elementary school student back in the 1950s, Art classes were always a special time during the school week. There was an air of excitement that pervaded Thursday afternoon, the regular time for our art session.
Usually during our student lunch hour the teacher, along with one or two students selected to help to get materials ready, move desks around and lay out the media materials for the session. When we came back into the classroom it had magically been turned into a different space from the more rigid daily layout of rows for our regular lessons in math, language arts, social studies and so forth. Now, friendly groups of desks, and new and exciting materials (paints, brushes, bright construction paper, scissors, jars of paste) all spoke of the adventures which were about to begin.
Those afternoons are still vivid in my memory after all these years and were the source of my interest in making my own art.
Another feature of elementary schools back in the 1950s was a weekly "Shop" session in the school's woodworking shop. We learned to cut (hack) wood, measure, glue, shape and fashion small pieces of wood into birdhouses, small storage boxes, and seasonal decorative items.
The woodworking, basic as it was, received a boost from my Dad in our sparsely equipped home workshop. We built a rickety table for the front porch, repaired Muskoka (Adirondack) chairs, and made large decorative items for our yard at Christmas. Not many skills were honed, but the joy of making and seeing a project come to life continued to kindle the flame of making and creating.
Usually during our student lunch hour the teacher, along with one or two students selected to help to get materials ready, move desks around and lay out the media materials for the session. When we came back into the classroom it had magically been turned into a different space from the more rigid daily layout of rows for our regular lessons in math, language arts, social studies and so forth. Now, friendly groups of desks, and new and exciting materials (paints, brushes, bright construction paper, scissors, jars of paste) all spoke of the adventures which were about to begin.
Those afternoons are still vivid in my memory after all these years and were the source of my interest in making my own art.
Another feature of elementary schools back in the 1950s was a weekly "Shop" session in the school's woodworking shop. We learned to cut (hack) wood, measure, glue, shape and fashion small pieces of wood into birdhouses, small storage boxes, and seasonal decorative items.
The woodworking, basic as it was, received a boost from my Dad in our sparsely equipped home workshop. We built a rickety table for the front porch, repaired Muskoka (Adirondack) chairs, and made large decorative items for our yard at Christmas. Not many skills were honed, but the joy of making and seeing a project come to life continued to kindle the flame of making and creating.
All of these experiences fostered an interest in self-expression and a desire to make things as I grew older.
Gradually, I acquired some basic woodworking tools of my own and started building out a workshop that improved from crude origins to a present-day place that I find inspiring and fulfilling for the creative side of my being.
The journey continues.
Gradually, I acquired some basic woodworking tools of my own and started building out a workshop that improved from crude origins to a present-day place that I find inspiring and fulfilling for the creative side of my being.
The journey continues.
RSS Feed