community spirit

When I was growing up I made art by myself. I had my drawings and my carefully crafted doll house furniture. Sometimes my mom would display something on the fridge. I made needlepoint for my grandma. In high school a group of us would take our lunches and study halls in the art room. We were hiding out there because it was a safe place where we knew we belonged, but we were never really a community. We were more a bunch of misfits with separate sketch books. It wasn't until I went to art school that I was part of a real arts community. I knew a group of people who were all interested in making art and talking about art and planning new art projects. It felt good. The periods of my life where I have been the most creative and productive are when I have been surrounded by a supportive art community.

When I started the art club I didn't know what I was after. My son Henry was always making things, and I was putting up his drawings on my fridge, and I wanted to help him share his enthusiasm with some peers. I didn't want his favorite past time to be a lonely pursuit, or for him to have to wait until college to find a group of friends to make things with.

I don't think our school arts programs are very good at creating a sense of community for young people. Most after school programs are temporary at best. In our culture a soccer team can last from kindergarten until the teen years, but there are no models for team spirit in the arts. It just doesn't seem right.

I don't know how long the art club will stay together, but I don't see an end in sight. As we approach a new year together I want to articulate my own motivations for starting the art club. The art club is about helping a group of young artists create a sense of community. I need to give them a place to work, materials, consistency, and encouragement. In my mind it doesn't really matter what I teach, it matters that I am there every week and they can bring in things that they made at home and share ideas with a group of young people they trust.

My goal for 2007 is to see if I can share this vision with other parents. Maybe we can get a few more of these groups started. I know there are many young artists out there, crafting solo, like their world will crumble if they don't cut that last paper snowflake. I know that feeling. It is just better to be part of a group and share that snowflake with a friend.