Eighth Grade Self Portraits Part II

After weeks of working with Ms. Emmet on an individual exploration, the second half of the eighth grade class presented their self-portrait projects to the community on Thursday, May 13. The other half presented in part one the previous evening.

Ms. Emmet started the second night of presentations off with gratitude and by recalling some of her first meetings with some of the children:

"I remember you students in first grade when we painted and started with “water water color and brush for colors to speak the children must hush….and on this paper true and good a beautiful picture from me to you”….

then some students left and new students came and brought such diverse ideas talents and orientations in life which made your class richer in debating and exploration.

Last night I talked about why were you asked to make this project and today let’s ask
why art is important in our life, we heard some of the students answer this question already last night in their description of what it meant to them to create their project.

Art takes us away from the activity of the analytical mind; the acquiring of information, other people ideas, and analyzing them. Art takes us into the part of ourselves which creates out of its own being. It gives form to dreams, hope, yearnings, feelings, takes us to places we have never been before and sometime will not exist until we make it visible. what you create no one else could do, and it will not happen unless you make it visible! Isn’t it haunting yet super exciting?

What is this force? this force is innately who we are! In the Hebrew tradition it says that God created us in its own image, my understanding is that this image is the ability to create.
In Hebrew language “creativity” literately means “passion”, those 2 words come from one root: yetzer yetzira.

What does the force of creativity facilitates?

Creativity, that passion is the fire that propels our journey into the unknown, into a place where that what you did not know you find within yourself. One creates in isolation yet many share the experience when they look or listen or read that creation. Not two people will notice and experience the same thoughts and feelings from the same artwork.

Art is a social activity!

Art history is the photo album of our human experience all around the earth and throughout all times. So open an art history book and look through it or surf the web and get in touch with our universal humanity."