We All Have Art Inside of Us
Thoughts for the Week:
There are all kinds of artists in
the world, and even very young children have the ability to express their ideas
and feelings through some form of art. Often, the scribbles and lines that
children draw don't mean much to us as adults, but, to the child, they
represent something that is worth drawing, and these early "artistic"
expressions need our interest and encouragement. As children grow, learning
it's okay to express their feelings in their own ways is more important than
learning to copy a pattern, color inside the lines, or draw a chair that looks
like a chair. Of course, if they feel they want to do that, it's up to them.
Nevertheless, no matter what our age, it's the art that is inside each one of
us that counts.
-- Fred Rogers
Summary of the Week:
"What is art?" "Who is an artist?"
and "What does it take to be one?" This week of Neighborhood programs focuses
on the many ways we can express who we are and what we feel through art.
Highlights of the week include
visits with different kinds of artists: children's book author-illustrator Eric
Hill (creator of the "Spot" series); portrait artist Bob Trow (a Neighborhood
regular); a skywriter who "draws" with her airplane; and potter Bill Strickland
who shows Mister Rogers how to "throw a pot."
In the Neighborhood of
Make-Believe, Lady Elaine Fairchilde practices the art of making mischief. She
gets angry over King Friday's rules about what he wants everyone to create, and
she becomes jealous of her neighbors' artwork.
