June 30, 1999
Clinch Park Zoo art class goes to the animals
New Art in the Zoo class draws on animals for artistic inspiration
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Combining animals and art proved to be a magic formula for captivating children.
This winning combination drew 10 children to the Clinch Park Zoo last week to participate in the new Art in the Zoo class. For three morning sessions, the students sketched, sculpted and made collages of their favorite animals. They also took a train ride, met the zookeepers and had a behind-the-scenes peek at the zoo and its residents.
Enthusiasm ran high among the budding artists as they completed their final session on Thursday morning.
"I like animals and I like art so this is a combination of my two favorite things," said Rachel Engebretson, 9. "I draw animals a lot and do cartooning. I am homeschooled so I do art every day and when a class comes up in the paper, my mom signs me up."
Members of the Grand Traverse Zoological Society created the Zoo Art program to allow children ages 8-12 a chance to explore the zoo and use the animals there as a background and inspiration for creativity. In addition to the Art in the Zoo class, they will offer a Drama for the Young class in August, using the animals of the zoo as inspiration for activities and skits.
"We wanted to use the zoo as a setting for a creative environment," said Margie Peacock, educational chairperson of the Grand Traverse Zoological Society. "The animals are the focus for the art and the kids are also here to have fun."
Erin Bernhard, 10, found everything about the class fun. Plus she learned some new art techniques along the way.
"I liked the scratch drawing best because I had never done it before," Bernhard said. "I do a lot of art because my mom's hobby is art; she likes to paint and lets me help."
Instructor Scarlett Beck led the students through the projects, which ranged from the scratch drawing technique, where students 'draw' their picture by scratching lines in paper covered with black paint, to making clay animals and paper mosaics. The students also created a sculpted flowerpot embedded with stones Beck gathered from the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Beck assembled the students' scratch drawings into a poster for students to take home. The poster will also be used to publicize future classes, as zoo officials are considering repeating the Art in the Zoo class in August.
"With the painting collage, we wanted to make the animal and their habitat together," said Beck, who recently graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts. "I wanted to connect every subject with a core art program. Art is always the first thing taken out of a school curriculum but some people learn better visually or with hands on. Classes like this allow students to connect art with different subject areas."