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Arts
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A
refreshing approach ...
The
mission ... "Does this go on in all the classes," we wondered. ... It does. "It goes on in every single class," Mary replied. "It's really a different way of putting what's called discipline-based art education," she continued. And when it comes to hiring faculty, she looks for that kind of experience in their approach. "We hire good teachers who know that all those four things are really important." By way of example, Mary uses her own "Animal Arts" class. "For example," she says. "We looked at animals and Egyptian history. And we do the science, too, by covering things like anatomy and bone structure and muscles, and how they work. ... So," she continued. "It's always possible, no matter what the class."
The
variety ... In addition to all this, Mary is also hopeful about starting up classes for more specialized groups. One example is "Art and Healing." "I have a friend who's dying of cancer," she confided. "And it came to me one night." In addition, there's also a class on multicultural arts, aptly titled "Magic Carpet Ride," where students learn about art and culture from places as diverse as Australia, China, Mexico, and more. Springhouse also offers their facilities and instruction for birthday parties. "We do pottery, printmaking ... whatever the parent or the kid wants," Mary says. "It's usually about 8 kids for a couple of hours. And they can have their cake, open their presents here, decorate their room how they want."
Springhouse is also planning a portfolio class for high school juniors and seniors. "Meanwhile," Mary says. "Something different that we're doing, which Sarah is really helping out with, is getting some kids from CVU who need extra time to work, who want to beef up their portfolios a little bit. They're coming in here for a free night, just to have a space to work, and to have a couple of teachers give them a critique." The aim is to make the students' applications to college just a little stronger than they might otherwise be. So, given all this, how is Mary's dream of opening an art school progressing? Imagination
come to life ... One of the other fruits of running her own school has been having control over class size. All of the Springhouse classes currently max out at eight students. "We could have more," Mary says. "We have the space in each classroom. But," she added. "I think it's so important for the teacher to have enough one-on-one time with each kid, because every child has different learning techniques. They each have different skill levels." The After School classes have been especially fruitful in this regard, Mary notes. "It's really been wonderful, because a lot of the same kids keep coming back. And I'm getting to know, as are the other teachers, this core group of kids." Mary has also fielded requests from some parents for private lessons after school. "They say they'd rather pay for the private lessons after school than pay for day care," she said, then added. "The parents are so fantastic. They come in after school. They look at the kids' work. They're encouraging." That's something Mary wasn't used to when she worked in public schools. There, "it was maybe one or two parents out of the 400 kids." How would Mary sum up the reality so far? "I feel really lucky," she says -- pointing to the faculty she's brought on, the students and parents she's gotten to know, and the fact that a fifteen-year-old dream is coming to pass. Then she says it again. "Really lucky." ... From the look and sound of things once the students came and settled in, she's not the only one. For contact information, see the info provided below. But don't miss out on the show! Springhouse
School of the Arts lmc .. E ******* ******* If you know of any artists or craftsmen/-women whose work you think deserves attention, don't hesitate to let us know. Simply e-mail us at arts@downstreetmagazine.com. ... And just in case you were wondering,
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