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When student painters, writers and photographers assembled Jan. 9 at Los Alamitos Elementary School, it had all the makings of a typical artists' reception. The young artists were on hand to explain their work to appreciative family and friends, who noshed on catered goodies as they took in the exhibit.
The reception was in keeping with the spirit of the National PTA's Reflections Program, which is designed to encourage students' participation in the arts. Each year the PTA asks K12 students around the country to create a literary, musical, photographic or visual artwork that supports a specific theme.
Los Alamitos students interpreted this year's theme, "I'm really happy when... ," in myriad ways, although none wrote a musical composition. Drawings and paintings ranged from self-portraits to farm scenes, while essay topics included baby cousins and friends' birthday parties.
PTA volunteers judged the student works and chose six entries to move on to the San Jose Unified School District's competition. The school district will select works to be judged at the state level, and from there some students move on to the national round.
All participating Los Alamitos students received ribbons, plaques and kudos at last week's reception. "It's amazing how they all come up with something unique and different," said Reflections program chairwoman Candyce O'Malley.
Kindergartner Christopher Raimondi wowed the judges with his vibrantly colored painting of two people racing toy cars around a track.
"I'm really happy when I play Hot Wheels with my dad," Christopher wrote in his artist's statement.
Third-grader Corey Alice Colen had an equally simple explanation of her drawing of ballerinas on a stage. "This is me in my dance class," she told the crowd assembled in the school's media center.
The standouts in the photography category were fifth-grader Henrique Chan and second-grader Tara Ranisaha. Henrique's photo, "The Raging Beauty of Igaussu," shows roaring Brazilian waterfalls. Henrique said he's been shooting photos for seven years, which means he first picked up a camera in preschool.
Tara had both a photo collage and a poem selected for the district competition. She used the different media to explore the same subject: her pet cockatiel.
"I took pictures of my bird Lana and wrote a story about what she does," Tara said, adding that she's been a photographer "since I took these photos."
Fifth-grader Jessica Skowronski wrote an essay about swimming, an activity she said makes her really happy. "I kind of like the backstroke," she added.
O'Malley said it's critical that the program's theme be reflected in the students' works. Entries are also judged on artistic merit, which makes Reflections a good companion to Los Alamitos' Art Vistas program. In Art Vistas, students undertake projects in many different artistic mediums and styles to give them a hands-on understanding of art history.
In Reflections, O'Malley said, students "apply a lot of the principles they learn in Art Vistas: composition, color and balance."
While some schools have students participate in Reflections as a classroom assignment, O'Malley said Los Alamitos' PTA chose to make participation voluntary. "Kids should do it because they want to," she added.
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Photograph by Erin Day