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Photograph by Robert Scheer

Rebecca Horton and Vivian Pham, both 6, construct a web of string art last weekend at Hands on the Arts.

Thousands get their hands on some art

12th annual event draws kids from far and wide

By Lester Chang

Thousands of children and their parents converged on the Sunnyvale Community Center May 17 to take part in the 12th annual Hands on the Arts festival.

Organizers touted the affair as one of the premier art and multicultural events in the San Francisco Bay Area for children--and they delivered.

Children from kindergarten through the eighth grade learned how to create a rain forest, draw cartoons, tell stories in dramatic fashion, and perform exotic dance steps.

They experienced music and art from "all over the world in one setting," said Artis Buerki, a publicity person for the event. "It is overwhelming."

Hands on Art was begun to fill a cultural void that was created after the loss of tax revenues following the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978 led to the elimination of art classes at most schools.

The festival was sponsored by the city of Sunnyvale, the Arts Council of Santa Clara County and Advanced Micro Devices.

Nearly 50 professional artists, operating from booths, offered several workshops, including Japanese brush painting, origami (Japanese paper folding), balloon sculpting, mask making, pottery painting and the making of Mayan stick figures, baskets and corn-husk dolls.

Children also learned how to draw caricature art and make butterflies and participated in karaoke, Caribbean, Spanish, Mexican, French, Chinese, African, Brazilian and Israeli music and dance.

"We wanted to bring the world here. We tried to include as many cultures as possible," said Glenn Hannon, a recreation program coordinator at the community center.

Using color crayons, paint and paper, children also helped build "Rain Forest Magic," an outdoor project comprised of animals, birds and vegetation found in a rain forest.

Youngsters also learned about parts of the Chinese culture when they constructed a dragon, the symbol of prosperity and happiness.

A storytime theater taught them how to share the drama of a well-told story. They also learned how to use sign language during another storytelling workshop.

Sunnyvale artist Jerilyn Lightfoot, a specialist in murals who has been recognized by the Arts Council, led workshops that held the participants spellbound.

Rachel Tischler of Sunnyvale taught Israeli folk dancing, while Mary Johnson, also of Sunnyvale, taught children how to dance while using hand chimes.

Children paid a $3 fee for the workshops, with a maximum charge of $10 for each family.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, May 21, 1997.
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