Student teaches art to kids

Melvin Jefferson would love to learn how to draw cartoons. But until recently, his elementary school did not have an art teacher or an art class. That was before College junior Amy Fridlund volunteered for the position. Fridlund teaches a class of third and fourth graders at the Montessori Genesis II elementary school once a week, helping them understand various artistic concepts such as hard and soft edges, the impact of color, and texturizing, she said. Jefferson's classmates at the school share his enthusiasm for art, and are eager to work on the projects designed by Fridlund. "I like painting and drawing and stuff," said student Nicholas Robinson. "This is the most fun subject." There are a wide range of talents among the 22 students, said Fridlund, who has been volunteering at the school for two months. "I want to show them that there is a lot more out there than drawing on a piece of paper with a pencil," she said. Karolyn Bernette, one of Fridlund's students, explained the class' latest project. "We're making a box and then when we finish the box, we're going to make eggs, and color [the boxes] with paint," said Bernette. Kristen Trulear described the process of preparing the eggs. "We have to take the eggs and roll them in glue and then we have to put [colored] tissue paper on them," said Trulear. The students then fill the boxes with brown shredded paper and place the eggs inside, said Fridlund, creating a dinosaur-like motif. Natasha Robinson, another of Fridlund's students, said that building the boxes was the hardest part. Robinson, as well as many of the students, preferred the project in which they made paper mache masks. "We painted them and we had to use hard edges which means that you don't want a color running into another one," said Robinson. "You want to see where one color stops and the other one begins." She added that one of the best parts of the class is the teacher. "She's nice. She's fun. She teaches us a lot," Robinson said. Ellen Palacio, who teaches other subjects to the class, said she is happy to have Fridlund in the classroom. "She's brought in a lot of really creative ideas," Palacio said. "She has made me make the time for art, which is great. It was one thing we were lacking." Fridlund, who helps design 34th Street magazine, said that she constantly encourages the students, wanting them to take joy in art. "I don't think there is such a thing as artistically inclined or unartisically inclined," she explained. "The way to learn art is just by doing it." Fridlund said she heard from a friend that the Montessori school was looking for teachers. She said that she called the school immediately and informed administrator Barbara Mitchell that she was interested in the position. Fridlund then met with Mitchell and the other teachers and asked what the teaching conditions would be and whether she would have a budget. She gave them ideas for projects she wanted to do and the school's staff was enthusiastic, she said. Fridlund then began work.