IN THE CLASSROOM:

Art teacher Debi Haymond stood at the front of Eastbluff Elementary School’s third grade, her apron and palms sprayed with vibrant colors. Twenty students and a few parent volunteers listened and worked as Haymond went over careful instructions on how to mix colors on a palette. As they began to paint in groups of five or six, the students could hardly keep their voices down. They discussed excitedly about how they would best create paintings that would eventually be auctioned off so their art teacher could be paid, and they could continue to have their monthly art classes.

Eastbluff Elementary’s annual auction was started last year in order to raise money for the school’s art program.

“It was getting expensive to have an art teacher in the school, so some of the parents thought of putting together an auction,” said Haymond, who has been teaching at the school for the past seven years. “The idea was to have the kids create paintings that the parents could purchase.”

The preparation for the auction goes on for a month, in which all the classes put together their best work. This year, the sixth grade worked on a collage of a Picasso painting.

“Each student was given a square of the painting to copy, and all the squares were then mounted on a canvas to complete the painting,” Haymond said.

The parents agree the auction is a great way to raise money for the art program as well as preserving their children’s work in their homes. Parent Shirley Gill has paintings from the classroom hung up all around her house. She is also one of the regular volunteers in the class.

“I love being with the kids and seeing what they can create. I think it opens them up to their more creative side,” Gill said.

As the teacher went around the classroom Friday, observing and helping the young artists, they contemplated which colors to use for different parts of their paintings. Maddie Tumbarello and her friends used tints and shades to paint a pattern of hearts and ribbons.

“We just learned about tints and shades in class,” Maddie said. “If you add black to a color, you get shades, and if you add white you get tints,” she said.

On another table, a group sat painting a beach scene with palm trees, cottages, the sun and clouds. To decide on color combinations, they referred to a color wheel that hung above them on the wall.

“The color wheel tells us about opposite colors and cousins of colors,” student Heewon Kim said. “It tells us what colors will look good next to each other.”

During every art class, the students learn about colors, art forms and famous artists.

“The third grade just finished studying about Native American history,” Haymond said. “So in art class, we have been working with native Pueblo pottery and paintings of Indian chiefs, while they also learn about tints and shades. Similarly, the sixth grade has been learning Chinese history, so we have been working on Chinese robes and symbolism.”

Haymond observed that the students are as interested in learning about art history as they are in learning to paint.

“The third grade just started learning about Cubism. Their brains are fresh, and their mind is like a sponge,” she said. “They want to know all about the artists and the paintings. While I teach, someone will always bring up some extra bit of information. Like when I was teaching the second grade about Van Gogh and ‘The Starry Night,’ someone asked if he was the one who cut off his ear. Then they wanted to know all about that story. When we talked about how his painting showed the disturbances of his mind in a swirly sky, they could very easily grasp the idea.”

Parent Stacie Wendland is one of the primary volunteers for the art auction.

“I’m not much of an artist, but I love watching the kids create,” she said. “They have amazing instruction: Mrs. Haymond has them recreating Picasso!”

Wendland observes a great change in her sons when they paint.

“They are both math-centered, but when they come home from art class they just want to do more art. Something like this is very important these days. You can create things on the computer screen, but there is no touch involved. Here, you are creating three-dimensional objects. It’s great to see the kids’ personalities come out as they paint.”

Haymond said art is a gift she can give to her students.

“You don’t reach every child with academics,” she said. “Through art, you can reach everyone.”