The Monsters Go to School

Back in early March of 2012, I had the pleasure of being contacted by DeeDee Potter, an amazing elementary school art teacher in Tennessee. She mentioned that she was putting together a Power Point presentation to inspire and motivate her students. Her subject matter for this particular project was Monsters — my specialty! Her interest was encouraging her students to stretch their imaginations as well as explore different techniques of production.

Monsters are often traditionally viewed as gruesome, scary, nasty creatures. However, by thinking outside the box, and expanding the boundaries of the creative process, some could actually be “found” who were beneficial, protective, and even pleasant to be around!

With a little help from my monsters (who were quite eager to participate, of course) and one of my Monster Alphabet posters as added inspiration, she and her class worked for 3 weeks and designed some terrific monsters! They also created an ink blow to make a monster; a paper fold name design; and an organic string design to get the creative juices flowing! They worked to complete the project by finishing it with a writing sample to pull in the writing skills.

I am truly honored to have played a small role in this explosion of creative discovery and am in awe of the students and their artistic creations!! Thank you Ms. Potter for inviting me along. I wish I had an art teacher like you when I was in elementary school. You and your class have inspired me!!!

Prints for sale at my Etsy.com shop: www.etsy.com/shop/wheremonstersmeet