Two worlds colorfully collided when elementary and high school students in Wylie ISD came together this spring to create monster art. The unlikely art project not only brought to life the cutest monsters but also an opportunity that encourages a heart for art and others.
First grade students in Mrs. Garcia’s class at Wylie East Elementary were asked to draw a fun monster from their imagination. Garcia said this was a basically a three-step process for her students where she offered shapes from which to work and the students taking all creative liberty from that point on. They created three drafts before sending their art to the high school.
Once at the high school, Art I students redrew the monster and Art III students sculptured it. Each piece of art was put on display at an art show held in Mrs. Garcia’s classroom where the original little artists, along with their parents and siblings, saw the rendering of their art for the very first time.
First grader Levi Herring said he was excited to see his monster again, which he named Explosionzilla, and what the high school artists did with it.
“I thought it was crazy and didn’t know that high schoolers could even do that,” said Herring in response to the high school artists recreating his monster. He was very pleased when he saw their recreation of his monster. “It’s really good.”
Freshman Art I student James McCall and Junior Art III student Mia Zwecker were Herring’s partnering artists. The art students were given the opportunity to select which monster they wanted to recreate. McCall said he enjoyed drawing Herring’s monster, wanting to keep it as close to his original design as possible. Zwecker, who recently received the highest rating for her art at the VASE state meet, was surprised at the quality of art coming from first graders. “I was really impressed with his art,” said Zwecker. She also said it was so cute it made her laugh.
The students had the chance to talk about their combined efforts during the art show and see the art of classmates. Herring said he was excited for his parents to see his monster as well.
Mrs. Garcia and WHS art teachers Alexis Hughes and Lisa Camp were pleased with the success and support of the collaboration. Camp described it as “Meet the Bulldogs” for the art student as she shared art show etiquette with the first graders and thanked Mrs. Garcia for the opportunity and the parents for their support.
“The idea is to get younger grades involved and invested in both the activity and the support of our high school students,” said Camp. “This makes them a part of something bigger than themselves as well as reinforces their art skills and confidence. That coupled with the fact that seeing our high school students alongside our first graders interacting and supporting one another in a positive way is precious and good for the soul.”
By Kristen Johnson
Photos By Kristen Johnson and Jordan Garcia