I have always believed, in order to be good at something, you have to be part of it!
I am a living example of what I believe. I'm out in the wild drawing, painting, and exploring every day. My paintings are inspired by nature and wildlife. My goal is to take the youth of today outside with me!! I want to get them reconnected to nature and wildlife! I'm not asking them to throw away the ipods, cell phones, and blackberries, just to turn them off long enough to experience a glimpse of nature in its natural habitat.
Our youth today is spending less and less time outside than ever before. They are becoming disconnected with the natural world and connected with a universal world of communication and entertainment. Electronic devices, attached to the arm, in the ear or in the hand is a necessity for casual attire for young people today. I'm not saying being universally connected is bad, but I am saying they, (the youth), are missing out on the natural world and we need the youth. We need them to be 'guardians of our wildlife's future'. Most of today's young people have never heard a 'real' songbird singing, a creek roaring on its way down stream, or a hawk calling from the sky.
Our 'at risk' youth of today faces challenges daily, their childhood is disrupted or even lost by a drug endangered, substandard living conditions. One of the goals of our art program is to rescue these children and give support where it is lacking and reinforce these children's positive attributes. For a few hours a week, at an after-school art program, these children are liberated through the arts to express their inner-most feelings, fears, and escape difficult circumstances, if only for a couple of hours. They blossom and grow when they connect to the natural world. The connection creates a calmness and normalcy within their lives. Art is a powerful way to diffuse violence and frustration.
Our classes, workshops, and outreach programs encourage exploration, creativity and self-expression with nature and wildlife as a focal point. It doesn't limit the children to a certain style or medium. All the elements of art can be taught with any given subject, for example: texture--refers to the roughness, coarseness or smoothness of a surface. It may be the actual surface or implied by the use of art techniques. One of our lesson plans would direct the student to observe the animal coverings. We bring live animal models into the classroom when we can, (art education through direct experience), the children can use their senses to see the animal covering, feel the animal covering, hear the animal covering,(soft feathers, dry scales, hard shell, etc.) and sometimes certain odors will identify the animal.
Making a 'Journal' with handmade paper created from natural fibers from nature, (dried grasses, leaves, flowers). Take a nature hike and discover animal tracks in the soft earth, pour plaster of paris in the tracks and create a cast of the tracks! Nature's palette is over-flowing with sights, sounds, smells that saturates the creative side of all of us. If I can only get the kids out in nature to create art and experience nature's palette; they will take the experience into their hearts and involuntarily become guardians of wildlife and the natural world through the arts!
Painting With Pat Art Education Organization is committed to improving the 'quality of life' of children. Painting With Pat, Inc. is a Non profit 501(c)3, all donations are tax deductible.
Our goal is to foster an understanding of the connection between animals, art, nature, society and create guardians of wildlife!.
