| News - Friday, December 12, 2008
Bringing culture to the classroom
Cultural Kaleidoscope opens children's eyes to a world of art
by Karla Kane
At James Flood Magnet Elementary School in Menlo Park Friday, the first graders were finding it hard to contain their enthusiasm. Artist Claude Ferguson had come to lead the class in an hour of artwork as part of the Palo Alto Art Center Foundation's Cultural Kaleidoscope program.
A diagram of an African Dogon mask, with a label marked "symmetry," graced the white board, while Ferguson explained that traditional African tribal masks are made of wood.
"But we're going to make our own with plaster to make them feel like wood," he said, bringing out the mask frames he had prepared. The kids gasped. As each student selected a mask to work on, some held them up to their faces while others chattered with one another and waved their hands to ask questions.
Ferguson and teacher Stacie Davidson moved from table to table, assisting each child with cutting the [u1]plaster-coated strips, then wetting and applying the strips to the masks.
The children erupted in giggles as they touched the slimy material.
"It's like peanut butter!"
"I think it's made of mud."
"It feels like sour cream."
Other children concentrated in silence.
Darian, 6, contemplated painting her mask pink and purple, while Aiyanna, also 6, laughingly proclaimed the procedure "yucky, sticky and wet."
Many of the students at James Flood are from East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park and — with the Ravenswood school district focused on raising test scores and many parents unable to pay for private art lessons — time and resources for art are scarce, according to Cultural Kaleidoscope Coordinator Kate Rone.
"Fine art is in need in East Palo Alto," she said. "There is little to no art education or materials."
Cultural Kaleidoscope has been bringing local visual artists into K-5 classrooms in the Palo Alto and Ravenswood school districts since 1990. The program publishes grade-appropriate curricula that incorporate art and cultural elements. At the end of the school year, an exhibit is held at the Palo Alto Art Center.
"The program was started to build connections between neighboring communities," Rone said. Each Ravenswood class has a partner class in Palo Alto, and students are given pen pals.
Cultural Kaleidoscope aims to promote art fundamentals, foster creativity and teach kids "how to respect and find an interest in cultural diversity. They learn about the richness of cultural differences or to celebrate their own heritage," Rone said.
The mask project at James Flood is benefiting students in many ways, Ferguson and Rone said. In addition to expressing themselves through artwork, they learn valuable skills, such as proper use of scissors, and about art basics such as color combinations and shapes. They also receive lessons in African dance and music.
Ferguson, a painter and African drummer, has been working with Cultural Kaleidoscope for five years.
"I didn't have art classes when I was a kid. Kids need art; it should be fundamental, as important as math and reading," he said. He developed the mask project because it involves several art skills — sculpture, drawing, painting and decorating. He uses recycled cardboard to construct the mask frames and makes sure to instruct his students to be mindful of wasting valuable art materials.
In addition to the class at James Flood, Ferguson is also currently working with classes at Belle Haven Elementary in Menlo Park and Barron Park Elementary in Palo Alto on a weekly basis.
The Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund has supported Cultural Kaleidoscope since 1995. Last year the program received $5,000. Money from the Fund supports publishing the curricula and presenting the art exhibition.
"2007 was our largest year ever," Rone said of the program, "and we had to turn classrooms away. However, thanks to our grant funding we were able to expand to 14 artists and 28 classrooms and offer free art to the public at our Family Day in East Palo Alto. We've been really fortunate to have this great regular support (from the Holiday Fund) over a long period of time," she said.
Back at James Flood, the young mask makers put away their projects, which they would continue laboring over the following week.
"I'm an artist!" Aiyanna said near the end of class, as she admiringly held up her work.
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Editorial Assistant Karla Kane can be e-mailed at kkane@paweekly.com. | 
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