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Would you want Picasso to decorate your Christmas tree?
Can you imagine what your Christmas tree would look like if it were decorated by 20th century Spanish artist Pablo Picasso? He's the guy who introduced cubism, painting faces with disconnected features. The 90-degree-angled nose might be on the side of the face with one eye on the left cheek by the ear and the other eye up on the right forehead.
One area artist and elementary art teacher has given this considerable thought. Connie Allee McClure always loved art. Painting was one of her main interests while growing up in Brazil. She had expected to go to college after graduating from Brazil High School in 1962, but the unexpected death of her father during her senior year stopped her goal at that time.
Connie married Gerald "Suds" McClure in 1963 and they eventually settled in Rockville. While raising three children, Connie continued painting and was successful at it.
She had an art studio at the corner of State Roads 59 and 36 where she sold her work and was president of the Covered Bridge Art Association.
Even with her successful art business, after her last child left home Connie was bored as an empty nester and wanted something more mentally stimulating. She enrolled at Indiana State University in 1986. Art was what she did but writing had been her secret desire so she initially majored in English. She hadn't considered teaching then.
After a couple classes her counselor advised her to build on the experience she already had as an artist. She switched her major to Art Education. That's when teaching art appealed to her.
"I knew there was a deficiency in students learning the real elements of art that could help them in college and their careers," Connie said.
She remembered the art classes available to students when she was in elementary school. Basically they were taught to draw people and animals using kidney beans and sausage links shapes. The beans were the head and body. The sausage was arms and legs.
"I'm not criticizing that teacher," Connie continued. "She taught her concept very well. Back then apparently the schools did not see a need to go into art history and styles."
But Connie definitely thinks there is such a need and has been teaching it at the Rockville Elementary School for 23 years.
"With children, they make art with abandon," Connie explained. "They don't worry about the end results. Nor are they very concerned with what their neighbor child is doing. They have ideas and they create their personal art."
The former president of the Art Education Association of Indiana was asked to define art.
"Art is illuminating and transforming a material into a different dimension," Connie explained. "Like taking a piece of cloth and making a garment or making pottery from clay."
Connie is always looking for a new way to teach children about art. She's always looking for a different concept or a fresh idea to catch children's attention and interest.
Through mutual websites, Connie connected with Eric Gibbons, an artist and elementary educator from New Jersey. Gibbons has authored two children's art books: "If Picasso Had a Christmas Tree" and "If Picasso Went to the Zoo". The purpose of the books was to help kids learn about art history.
For "...Christmas Tree" Gibbons picked out 30 well known artists and wrote a poem about their work and style. He didn't have time to do both the poems and illustrations. So, via the internet, he asked interested artists to submit drawings representing any of these selected famous artists. The qualifications were it had to depict that artist's particular style and had to include a Christmas tree. Gibbons chose 50 famous artists for "...Zoo". Besides mimicking style, the submitting artist had to include an animal.
Connie had two pictures chosen for each of Gibbons' books. Her inspiring artists for "...Zoo" were Georges Seurat Seals and Paul Cezanne Cockatiel. For "...Christmas Tree" the inspiring artists were Giorgio de Chirico and Mary Cassatt. The Gibbons' poem accompanying Connie's illustration of Cassatt was:
"If Mary Cassatt had a Christmas tree,
are these the colors and shapes you'd see?
Mother and child was her special theme,
to her they were perfect, a wonderful team.
An American woman, she traveled to France,
To paint with the best, it wasn't by chance.
She painted as well as any man would,
They said that she couldn't, she proved that she could.
And now in museums all over the earth,
A model for women to know their self-worth!"
The Dr. Seuss-like rhythm makes it fun for kids to read and helps keep them focused on the art. Connie thinks it's fun working with kids.
"I stand on Pablo Picasso's statement," Connie said. "'All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once you grow up.'"
She wants to help the kids to know and keep their artistic abilities.
"I'm still in love with teaching children art."