Judy Bruce
I had the absolute pleasure last week in the Sonoran Arts League Studio as I interviewed some really enthusiastic tweens and teens. Why did they enroll in the classes, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Carefree? Most had parents enroll them, but they loved the classes because they were fun! One student told me the class was much healthier than being behind computer and phone screens all day; another said he loved being creative.
And creative they were; I saw 3D rabbits, a wizard, a cat, a purple creature, a blue mask, a bike, two funky heads, bubble letters, and fabulous clay, paper mache, drawing, and other wonderful pieces.
The kids in Jeanne Anne Baughman’s class were totally engaged and excited, and they produced really exciting work.
How wonderful to be in a community that supports the arts for young people! Why is that important? As in many schools I had to go to my school board almost every year with reasons to keep art in our elementary and junior high.
Some of the reasons:
1. In this day of increasing technology, human hands-on creative experiences are vital to both young and old.
2. Art facilitates fine motor skills.
3. Art involves all our senses: touch, hearing, smell, and sight.
4. Art teaches us to look, appreciate, and evaluate the cultural and historical arts of mankind.
5. Art can be a therapeutic form of self-expression.
6. Art classes can provide lifelong skills and leisure time activities.
7. Art teaches aesthetics as a basis for a person’s value judgments as consumers, in matters of taste, and to enrich one’s life.
8. Art allows us to create objects of beauty or fun things to enrich our homes!
Oh, yes! Art is not a frill! “You Gotta Have Art,” and thankfully, the Kiwanians and the League know just how vital art is to our youth as well as adults and the elderly!
