Art To Grow On, Inc. in the News
"Young at Art"
by Douglas Morino, Daily Breeze, December 6, 2009
| Jacob Davis and Jonathan Son sat with several classmates at a lunch bench on a recent afternoon, and with the art of Edgar Degas sitting before them as inspiration, they went to work. |
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"I like it because you build it yourself," said a clearly busy Jonathan, a second-grader at Anza Elementary school in Torrance, as he molded clay with his fingers.
The students spent a recent afternoon participating in a lesson provided by Art to Grow on Children's Art Center Inc., a program that brings art education into local classrooms. For inspiration, the students were given examples of work by Degas, the 19th-century French impressionist.
The program was started by Lauren Perelmuter, a graduate of South High School and a current Torrance resident.
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Madison Murata, 7, and her 5-year old brother Robbie and classmates Clair Lee, 9,
and Hannah Son, 9, are focused on a Degas dancer during an after-school art program
at Anza Elementary School in Torrance. (Sean Hiller Staff Photographer)
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"We want the students to be able to touch and feel and experience the art," Perelmuter said. "Relating it to their world is critical."
Perelmuter opened the business nine years ago from an office in Torrance. What began as a small workshop catering to six students has grown into a program serving more than 900 students from schools across the county. Lessons range from impressionism and surrealism to architecture and sculpture. Even proper museum etiquette is discussed.
Music is played while students work - sometimes Stravinsky will be paired with a lesson on Picasso, or a soft guitar recording with a lesson on Gaud , the Spanish architect. Students are shown examples of work by famous artists, and then given the freedom to create their own works of art. Parents are encouraged to ask open-ended questions about their children's work when they bring it home.
"We want to promote dialogue and increase self-esteem," she said.
Since opening her business, the demand for art in the classroom has increased, Perelmuter said. She pointed to the growing emphasis on academics and standardized testing as evidence that art programs may have fallen in importance.
"There's always a need for art in the classroom," Perelmuter said. "Now more than ever before. Creativity isn't allowed to surface as much as it used to be."
Perelmuter said that the positive response from students and their parents has been proof that art is needed in the classroom.
"The students are hungry for it, definitely."
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