Willow Glen, California Since 1992
Opinion
|
Some paint, some time, and lots of support 
By Deborah Taylor-Hollis Murals are not unusual in Willow Glen. The most famous are in the Washington Mutual Bank (the old Home Savings) on Minnesota and Lincoln avenues, showing forest scenes inside and tile boating scenes outside. Those kinds of murals are created by accredited artists with grants or commissions to make public art. Information about where the artists got their start, though, is usually obscured in history or not noted at all. Some teachers have changed that and are openly working with students to make public art accessible, fun and relevant. And it's all happening at Le Boulanger. The bakery opened about a decade ago, and the local family that owns the Le Boulanger chain has always supported the neighborhoods in which the businesses are located. Now their front windows support the future artists of America and show off great kids' art in a fun way. Splashed across the whole storefront on the window have been seasonal themes and holiday motifs throughout the past school year. The current exhibit is from Donna Dean's fourth-grade class from Willow Glen Elementary School (WGES) and depicts Donna's first love—the sea. Donna has been using an ocean theme to teach her kids everything from math and science basis she caps off the end of the school year with a special field trip over the hill to the shore. That love of nature explodes all over the front windows of Le Boulanger right now, with sea urchins, snails, fish—and, if you look closely, even Sponge Bob Squarepants. Part of the ongoing artistic education provided by parents at WGES, the off-site art window decoration project was conceived of and executed by Janice Van Donzel and Debbie McCormick, two parents of children in Dean's class this year. All of the art taught on-site is run from the parent-funded PTA group, as there is no art teacher or designee on campus to coordinate projects like this, and the campus administration has no enrichment programs in the works. "I thought these two wonderful moms doing art every Friday was so great, and this was part of the stuff they got for us," Dean explained as she bragged about her creative class. "Their artistic projects have included doing letters for use in the teacher retirement assembly on June 10, mobiles and a huge totem pole for a NASA field trip. I brought in some real large animal bones. We bleached and cleaned and then glued, as well as studied great artists and their styles." Another regular art project is the creation of "welcome" banners for Hickelbee's bookstore and its visiting writers program. "For John Marciano, author of the Delilah series and grandson of the Madeline series creator, we made this huge banner of curled sheep hair out of paper. We just love to support reading and the wonderful authors," Donna beamed with pride. The window mural at Le Boulanger is a source of joy as well. "We chose a beach theme because we have been dealing with the ocean all year. We went to the Long Marine Lab and did studies there, and Seacliff for the end-of-the-year party. Harley Blandford, Derrick Van Donzel, Kevin McCormick. Oscar Picho, Sabrina Lopez, Cabie Barr and Allyssa Terrazas are just some of our great future artists who worked really hard to make that mural special," she added. "The kids were there in their uniforms at 9:30 in the morning. Mrs. Van Donzel broke everyone up into three groups—water, sand and air—and after the background was completed, each child was allowed to draw his or her own addition to the mural. Sponge Bob was Adric Torres' idea. "The folks from Le Boulanger donated cookies and water for the budding artists. We were there most of the morning. The kids all behaved so well and worked so hard, but it was great." Dean works hard on campus to also promote the gardens with her fellow teachers, going so far as to create a summer watering program with the kids since the district does not maintain the grounds during the hot months and the dozens of flowerbeds die each year without private care. The unlandscaped weeds and overall lack of maintenance (rats run the campus in summer and the classrooms have cockroaches year-round) are depressing at an elementary school, and it would probably qualify for blighted status if it weren't for that kind of colorful commitment to excellence from some teachers and students. Stop by the bakery at 1351 Lincoln Ave. to see what young people can achieve when they are given the tools and support to grow and flourish. And say hi to Sponge Bob for me. Deb is concerned about conditions at WGES and encourages community members to stroll through and see how it looks up close. You can email her at dthollis@svcn.com. |
Feedback, or story ideas for the Willow Glen Resident?
(Close this Window to go back to our home page.)
Copyright © SVCN, LLC. Maintained by GoGuys, Inc.