Molding the minds of youth

By Jennifer Griswold

Published: February 14, 2008

NORMAN — With all eyes on her, Karen McWilliams takes a chunk of red clay in her hands and begins forming it.

The 25 Jackson Elementary School fourth-graders in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art classroom follow her lead. Feeling the clay with their hands, their palms pick up a red tinge as they roll it into a ball. A flat, round base is formed. Then long, clay snakes are coiled around it. The form of a pot emerges.

The fourth-graders were the first of more than 1,100 Norman students that will become potters this semester through the pARTner project, an art education program of the museum.

The program is designed to supplement the art education students receive in the classroom by giving them hands-on experience. The pARTner project allows students to learn about master artists, to see their works in the museum's collection and to create art in the museum's classroom.

Norman fourth-graders visit the museum twice during the year, focusing on two-dimensional art in the fall and three-dimensional art in the spring. The project is in its 17th year.

For many students, it's their first exposure to fine art, said Susan Baley, curator of education. The pARTner project was the recipient of the Outstanding Outreach or Education Program award by the Oklahoma Museums Association in 2005.

"A lot of kids really remember that fourth-grade year, their visits to the museum. They think of it as their museum,” Baley said. Fourth-graders were selected for the out- reach project because they can understand art concepts and are still open-minded about art, she said.

The Jackson students spent a recent morning at the museum viewing its collection of sculptures and pottery. From ancient Chinese ceramics to American Indian pots, the students saw examples of both realistic and abstract sculptures. They then went into the museum classroom where McWilliams, assistant curator of education, taught them how to make their own clay pots.

Each artist makes his own creation unique, and that's what makes art so surprising, said McWilliams. "We all start out with the same steps, but they all turn out to be different shapes and different sizes,” she said.

Sally Smith has been volunteering at the museum for more than five years, and she's worked with thousands of students through the pARTner project during that time.

"The kids are always so sweet and eager to learn,” she said. "We have a fabulous museum, and I'm just so glad I can be a part of this.”

Art doesn't always get a lot of attention in the schools, she said. So, the museum provides the opportunity for students to not only view and learn about art but also the opportunity to become artists themselves.

Smoothing the edges of her pot, Jael Downing, 11, has decided on her future career. "I want to be an artist when I grow up,” she said. Although the aspiring wedding dress designer prefers sketching in pencil, she likes all types of art and enjoyed getting her hands a little messy for the pottery project, she said.

Teacher Heather Toney has participated in the museum's program for four years. The lessons students learn through the program really add to what she teaches in the classroom, she said.

"I can show them pictures or posters of art, but here they get to see the textures, colors and shapes. It just reinforces what they're learning,” she said.

Baley hopes the experiences the students have in the museum will encourage them to come back to expand their art education and to share it with others.

"We hope kids will bring their whole family back and share with them what they've learned and be their tour guides,” Baley said.

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