Beginning of artist interviews at Lincoln Child Center

I began working at Lincoln Child Center in January 2006. When I arrived there literally was no art program. The arts, music, and PE were all suspended and the teachers were assigned in the classroom. By May of 2006, I had procured my vision to create a transformative art program at Lincoln and I went part time to accomplish this. Otherwise I would have been assigned to class rooms and not focusing on art. My sole purpose for being at Lincoln and my known strength was to teaching at-risk youth and SED children the power of art.
The interviews below are the beginning interviews with my students. It is interesting how they have evolved as these are written in 3rd person.

AUSTIN
Age 9
“Butterfly Man”
Acrylic on Canvas
Austin’s philosophy of art is that “Art is Good Stuff”. He says that art is fun and it makes him feel good. Also, Austin says in art you never have to be perfect when you do it.
In art class he enjoys painting, sculpting, and fixing things. Austin has learned he has talent and through his art he can fix things both physically and emotionally.

Jasmine
Age 13
“Branch of Love”
Acrylic on canvas
Jasmine says that art is everything to her. She loves it. As a creative spirit she has learned that one should never give up. One can sense her muse as she thinks about her Art she smiles and says, “when I am doing art if I mess up I just keep on going and then I learn something new.”
Jasmine has many strengths including creativity, empathy, a great sense of humor, also through her art and process she has developed the strong ability to persevere through the adversity in her life. Her dream is to become a professional artist.

Shari
Age 11
“Corruption”
Shari intuitively understands the power of making art and she emphatically state’s “that she believes that art is as important as the sun”. She also realizes that through making art she has developed courage and she has built her self-esteem. Art is very meaningful to her and she knows that she can do it for a living. When watching Shari create one can see that she is fearless in her creative process.

Shari’s can be described as a very vibrant, intelligent, and creative soul. She also seems to be a natural teacher as she supports and guides her fellow classmates in their own art making process.

Tamoni
Age 6
Art to Tamoni means happiness. He loves to draw partically animals and superheroes His use of color loves color. He is a natural artist and what he has learned in art is how to have fun.
When Tamoni grows up he wants to be wrestler. When asked what was a beautiful moment in his life he said that is was his sixth birthday party.