Memories of Linda's art classes for children

Posted by Carol Lopez on May 6, 2014, 2:13 pm
187.148.175.250

ARTE SABADO CLOSES The Arte Sabado art classes have come to an end – after 2 ½ years of continuous classes every Saturday at 11:00am. Linda Koenig generously provided the first floor of her house, many materials, ideas and inspiration to children of all ages. They were free to explore their creativity, and they so looked forward to Saturday mornings. It was mostly local Mexican children who came; however, eventually some were traveling from Melaque and even Cihuatlan. Gringo kids visiting would look forward to going back to their annual art classes at Linda’s. The sessions were free of charge and open to everyone. Linda was the driving force, and she never wavered in her commitment to be there, and to encourage children to try making (almost) anything. There were several other volunteers; Traveling artists, (children and adults) were invited to teach, and eventually some local women were hired to help. There were also generous donations of materials coming from el norte; and Linda would buy large amounts of paper, ribbon, paints, beads, wood sticks, clay …all kinds of raw materials. The kids loved having so many resources to work with, and the freedom of choosing how they wanted to construct and decorate their projects. I live right across the street, and the scene on a Saturday morning was amazing, as the children would stream into, and 2 hours later, out of the classroom, waving their treasures as they ran home. Linda’s contribution needs to be acknowledged – and documented. We can never measure the value of so much freedom and creativity. However, I would love to see photos posted here of the children with their creations. If anyone has photos of Arte Sabado sitting in your computer files, can you please post them here; maybe someone will make a video or book, so the community can see how the children spent those delightful two hours every Saturday. Stories will be appreciated, too. Linda on her roof, looking through a book of art projects, planning for the next class Graffiti La Manzanilla style - Linda provided colored chalks, and encouraged the kids to decorate her studio walls - you should see them now! That's Judith and Mary Jo, helping Hania with a project. Marta, teaching paper mache. Peter, supervising a gigantic crocodile sculpture, made with a structure of plastic bottles. Mia, with her egg carton creation Belen, making a corn husk doll - the class appealed to adults, too, and Linda tells me she is open to hosting adult classes, too - yay! Children can be so co-operative - sharing space, ideas, and materials; they seem to know it's the process, not the end result that matters. Post your pictures and stories here - just "", go to the menu that says "upload image" and choose "message board size". And thank you, Linda, for sharing your vision for children and their creativity - you chose a great little village to share it with!

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