This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.
Bennett Elementary School kindergarten students received a surprise Tuesday morning, as local high schoolers visited the school’s library with handmade art inspired by the elementary schoolers’ paintings.
In the fall, the Bennett students created paintings of monsters based on the famous book “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak.
Unbeknownst to the young students, the paintings were shared with artists at three nearby high schools – Colgan, Gainesville and Patriot High School – for the older pupils to create works representing the kindergartners’ paintings. The finished products ranged from clay sculptures to colorful dolls.
Each high school student was paired with a kindergartner, and at Tuesday morning’s event, the high schoolers stood up and presented their creation to their younger counterpart, showing off how they interpreted the young artists’ paintings.
CJ Graham, a sophomore at Colgan High School, was paired with Elena Kelly, a kindergartner at the Manassas area school. Graham made a doll based on the drawing of Kelly’s, which she said was a new experience for her.
“This was my first time ever making a big project using sewing, so it was a learning-as-I-go kind of experience,” Graham told InsideNoVa.
She used yarn for the doll’s hair and “retaught” herself how to crochet to make the doll’s arms.
“I got to experiment with a bunch of new mediums like buttons and sequins, and it was just really transformative,” Graham said.
While she said the project was a touch more challenging than she anticipated, it was “definitely” her favorite summative assessment for the class.
“It was really fun, and I loved meeting Elena,” Graham said.
Kelly said she was surprised – but a “happy” surprise – when she saw Graham’s creation. The experience made her want to continue experimenting with art, Kelly said, potentially with her newfound buddy in Graham.
Along with the other pairs, Graham and Kelly savored pizza slices al fresco after the art presentation.
Amy Holt, the elementary art teacher at Bennett, told InsideNoVa she was sent an online post about a similar project and thought it would be interesting to implement for her students.
After connecting with teachers from the three high schools, Holt got the ball rolling.
“I know a lot of the high school students. I’ve talked to a few of them, and I saw them at the art show,” she said. “They were just so excited to give their art, so that part has been very meaningful.”
