Joanne Netzel Holly

Most kids don’t know what they’re missing. They grow up with the occasional art/craft project in school, never imagining that art could be an integrated subject, as important as the three R’s and PE. But we Campus kids had an art teacher! We had an art room! We had art exhibitions! When my family moved away, I fully expected art to be a regular part of the curriculum. (Boy, was I disillusioned when the one and only art project I got to do in sixth grade was a crummy little needlepoint ladybug. Seventh grade was a candleholder, made from stacked baby food jars adorned with string and gold spray paint.) I missed the deeply engaging art experience that we had with Mr. Hodge.

(above) Trip to Bountiful, acrylic on panel

I did find art again after high school, and earned a BFA. I love making stuff. But probably the most important thing I’ve done with that education was to pass it on to my children (and their peers). They had no full-time art teacher growing up. But parents got involved and organized. The schools brought in visiting artists every year for one major project in which every class participated. And the Art Literacy program, run by parents and embraced by faculty, provided exposure to a great variety of artists, styles, media, and techniques. It was amateur, but it was a regular opportunity for kids to learn, experiment, get messy and stretch their creative minds.

I’m glad I had the best teacher to emulate! Kids need art, any way they can get it.

(below) Kaleidoscope Quilt, pieced cotton; Colorfield Quilt, pieced cotton

(above) For Dad, acrylic on canvas

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