Triad elementary school students design their own monster plushies

Yahoo

2 days ago

GRAHAM, N.C. (WGHP) — Some Graham High School students are on a mission. They are set to deliver some pretty precious cargo to their next-door neighbors. The kindergarteners at North Graham Elementary School. The art classes at the two schools collaborated on a special project and their delivery was the end result.
Kathryn Combs, the Art Teacher at North Graham Elementary, says it all started with a book the class read.
'We read a book called Love Monster,' she says. 'It talks about finding people that connect with you and love you for who you are. And so we decided to replicate the monsters from the book.'
And so, they did! The students enjoyed drawing their own monsters, which helped to create the ultimate art project.
According to Combs, 'We started out by using elements of art. Lines, shapes and colors and the kids drew different lines, shapes, colors, all the monsters, and we used colored pencils to color them in.'
Then those drawings were given to the high school art students who were tasked with bringing them to life.
Makayia Foust, a Graham High School senior, said it wasn't easy.
'The drawings were really like complex,' she said
But it was a challenge they were willing to accept because it was also a learning opportunity.
'There's a lot of creative problem solving in it,' says Doctor O'Donnell, the Art Teacherat Graham High School. 'They have to sort of translate something that might be like a scribble into something that might turn into a pattern or a shape. Some of them, they just immediately sort of knew what they were going to do. Other ones they really had to think hard and do sketching and kind of figure out. You know, how am I going to actually turn this idea into something 3D? So yeah, just a lot of creative problem solving along the way.'
But they worked together, and it ended up better than they could have
Said Foust, 'It just really made me feel really good because children don't really get to see what they create really come to life. So, me being able to do that really just made me feel great. '
And you can tell the younger students loved the results. They were laughing and cheering when they were delivered.
'It was just a great way for our High school students, a lot of them who I taught years ago to connect with the current students that I teach and just it's a great role model,' said Combs. 'And to show that what you're doing in elementary art can continue in middle school and in high school.'
O'Donnell agreed. 'I think for my students this means a lot because it's a chance for them to connect with younger students in their community who look up to them and to just spread joy to use visual art to spread joy to people.'
Joy was abundant in the room when the plushies were delivered.
Said O'Donnell, 'Just getting to see them hug in and smiling and being happy and making somebody else happy with their artwork is just priceless.'
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