Getting the picture
with art education

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

Pine Valley resident Elsie Epstein believes that art deserves a higher spot on the list of priorities at local grade schools.
She also understands that budget cuts and a lack of art resources make it difficult for schools to include the subject in their curricula.
"Some of them didn’t have an art teacher," Epstein, 80, said of the schools. "(The city) doesn’t understand the need in the public schools."
That’s why Epstein brings the art to the children as a volunteer with Art Goes to School, a program that now operates in 50 school districts throughout the Delaware Valley.
Locally, the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), a region-wide service organization, hosts the program at the Jewish Community Centers’ Klein Branch in Somerton. RSVP also offers volunteer opportunities with libraries, hospitals, hot lines and cultural institutions.
Like all of RSVP’s volunteer sub-groups, Art Goes to School serves a need.
"With all the cuts in art, this is great," said Marcia Gross, director of RSVP.
Through the Art Goes to School program, Epstein conducts art-appreciation lessons at local elementary schools. The group includes only a handful of other volunteers, but they manage to visit most of the grades in about 10 local schools. Program participants have included the Comly, Disston, Mayfair and Anne Frank elementary schools.
"It’s to get them interested in art itself," said Epstein, a program volunteer for five years. "The children are so excited. It’s remarkable as we go each year."
But the lessons don’t involve finger-painting or poking at Play-Doh. Conducted in the vein of a kid-friendly college art course, the sessions teach youngsters about famous artists, their styles and their mediums, Epstein said.
And what’s more, she says, the kids actually get it.
"They’re so busy absorbing and they remember what (pictures) we brought last year," Epstein said. "And the questions they ask!"
Art Goes to School trains volunteers with workshops and lectures. Potential participants do not need teaching experience or an art education background.
The program also supplies more than 900 art reproductions for use in classes. The time periods they reflect range from prehistoric to modern. The volunteers also cover the styles of various cultures and artistic movements like surrealism and cubism.
The worldly component helps students attending diverse schools to learn about other backgrounds, including their own, Epstein said.
She recalls showing the masks worn by chieftains in a particular Indian tribe to one class and seeing a flicker of recognition in a student’s face.
"One of the children raises his hand and says, ‘You’re talking about my father,’" Epstein said of the child, who was from the same Indian tribe.
"If we don’t start mixing our cultures, we’re going to have a big problem," Epstein added. "I think that art will pull kids together more than anything."
Sally Rotenberg, a first-grade teacher at Comly, said her class loved Epstein’s lesson last week. Epstein showed the students paintings by Pablo Picasso and gave them photocopies of the works to take home.
"They loved it," Rotenberg said. "We don’t have an art teacher here, so this is a great opportunity for them to see some art."
Rotenberg also lauds the fact that retirees lead the lessons.
"The other thing that I think is great is that these are retired people and it gives them the chance to do something productive," she said.
Epstein reaps the rewards of her dedication through the drawings she receives from the students she has visited.
"They’re always so excited when I go there that they want to give me something to show that they’re doing art," she said.
"It’s the greatest thing. I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am to see the children. I just am so grateful that I can do this." ••
Art Goes to School is in need of volunteers. For more information, call RSVP at 267-345-7787.
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com