Clown Masks Put A New Face On Learning At Betz Visiting Artists Demonstrate Teaching Of Basic Skills With Art
The clown masks that filled the room at Betz Elementary in Cheney last Thursday were of every color and shape.
Some were abstract with star shaped eyes and pink hair. Others had a more direct inspiration.
“That one looks like my dad,” said a student.
Nationally known artists Ron and Marsha Feller spent last week in Betz classrooms, working with students and teachers on art and music projects.
The visit was a long-anticipated event at the school.
The Fellers, who have traveled around the nation’s schools for 26 years as storytellers and artists, have a two-year waiting list and command a $2,500 fee.
Sales of gift wrap funded the visit.
The Fellers showed Loriann Zent’s second-graders how to construct a paper clown mask, then set them loose to work on their own creations. The students later reconvened to write a song based on their clowns.
“Part of what we try to do is show teachers you really can teach basic skills through the arts,” said Ron Feller. “The masks, for example, are used as a springboard for writing.”
The Fellers say their goal is to keep art alive in schools at a time when art funding is rapidly disappearing.
“We have to get them interested in art as kids,” said Feller. “You wonder what’s going to happen to these kids.
“Where are the fiddle players going to come from, and the artists? It’s our little mission in life.”
They liked what they saw at Betz.
Kids decorated their clowns with curly construction-paper hair, 3-D eyelids and goatees.
“Your mask is starting to take on a personality,” Feller told an intense Gretchen Kramer.
“This is hard, but fun,” she said, carefully pasting eyes on her clown.
Students met in assembly at the end of the Fellers’ visit to share their projects.
SCAN conference begins today
The 14th annual SCAN conference, “Challenged Parents and Challenging Children,” will take place today and Friday at the Mukogawa Conference Center.
Local and internationally known professionals will present current information about attention deficit disorders, alcohol-related neurological disorders and parental cognitive disorders.
The conference costs $120 , and $60 for students.
Registration forms are available at the SCAN office, 500 South Stone, or by calling 458-7445.
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MEMO: The Education Notebook is a regular feature of the South Side Voice. Please let us know about interesting programs and activities, and the achievements of students, teachers, administrators, staff and volunteers at schools on Spokane’s South Side and in Cheney, Medical Lake and the Liberty School District. Contact Amy Scribner, South Side Voice, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. Or call 459-5439. Fax 459-5482.