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Correspondent SPRINGFIELD A group of community leaders have committed themselves to seeing that the arts thrive in Indian Orchard. "A future generation of creative and innovative leaders ready to build the community and economy can begin now," Merrilee Aurora Hale of Gallery 137, said during an interview with Reminder Publications. Hale is passionate about exposing children to the arts from a historical perspective to the techniques and skills needed to excel in the field. On the afternoon of July 30, Hale had a large group of eager students seated around long oblong tables who with pencil and paper spent a good deal of time on portraits mostly of their friends. The summer arts program came to fruition thanks to the Hampden Bank Charitable Foundation which donated a three-year, $15,000 grant to create art programs for young people in the neighborhood of Indian Orchard. The funds will pay for a series of art programs in collaboration with The Artists' Mill at Indian Orchard for children ages eight to 17 in the Indian Orchard branch of the Springfield Library. The project started this summer with classes for teens on Wednesday afternoons and for children on Saturday afternoons, and continues into the school year with Saturday and evening classes. "Joining with the Springfield Library, we have an opportunity to continue our support of the youth of Springfield and help make a profound difference in the lives of our neighbors," Robert A. Massey, treasurer of the Foundation, said. "As the only bank still headquartered in Springfield, Hampden Bank is totally committed to being an active partner in this community. This is significantly important to all of us and a focal point of our business plan." Emily Bader, the library system's director, echoed those sentiments. "We are very excited to have Hampden Bank make this program possible," she said. "This generous donation will help make a positive difference in the lives of these children." To ensure that students have as much time to ask questions of Hale during the sessions, she spends at least two hours each week outlining the lesson plans prior to meeting with her students. She noted that most of her quick lessons and exercises last about 10 minutes while the longer assignments are about 45 minutes. "I try to be as accessible to the students, engaging them in conversation while we work so that they can ask as many questions as they can think of during a session," she said. "I tend to observe while speaking to the students, having them work on assignments while we have a dialogue about art." Hale said her goal is to create a setting that is comfortable for her students, and helps them to build verbally what they are creating visually. For one of her students, Keyan Zarrabi, 12, he enjoys being able to ask Hale questions so he can improve his artistic abilities. "I like this class because it gives me a way to express my feelings," he said, adding, it is also a fun way to make new friends. "Everyone likes to talk a lot which is good and I can still concentrate on my work." Two friends who seem inseparable are Samantha Craig, 17, and Mary Zagula, 17, who were drawing portraits of each other last week. Craig said she joined the class to "expand her artistic abilities," while Zagula noted she wanted to improve on her art skills since she will be taking intermediate art this fall at Cathedral High School. It was apparent from all the participants that art was a great way to express themselves and to make new friends along the way. Hale noted that visual and performing arts education fosters sets of thinking and problem-solving skills that are rarely learned in other core academic subjects, and provides the students with deeper critical thinking and reasoning that they can apply to these subjects. "Visual-spatial abilities, human experience, willingness to experiment and learn from mistakes, cooperation, the interchange of visual to verbal communication (and vice versa), and increasing observation and problem-solving are just some of the essential characteristics found in art education," she said, adding, "we need to promote arts education in all capacities to give students these necessary skill sets." Hale also loves the community aspect of the arts project that was made possible by the Foundation. "It is just what a creative neighborhood should be the ability to walk through a vibrant arts district with plenty of activities to engage residents of all ages," she said. Hale noted that residents as well as visitors to the area can visit the Indian Orchard Mills and the artists' studios, stroll past the Village Art Walk on Front Street, cross Main Street to view Gallery 137 and continue over to the art on display at Hampden Bank and end at the Indian Orchard Library's art corner. "Many of the students that I have here at the library program I have had in the past, either at Gallery 137's studio art for children classes or through the outreach program at Indian Orchard Elementary School that we conducted this past year," she said. Hale attributes her love of art to her parents who she said "believed in art education" and began sending her to classes at the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, the Drama Studio, and the Community Music School, all in the city, when she was about four. "Since that time, I have continued my involvement with art and community," she said, adding she has taught outreach programs at White Street School, Indian Orchard Elementary School, and the Springfield Academy for Excellence High School through the Bing Arts Center and Gallery 137 projects. "I will be proudly joining the public school system this fall as the new art teacher at Kennedy Middle School," she added. Hale has a bachelor's degree in art and will soon be pursuing a master's degree in education. Hale believes strongly that working in the arts field is a "way of integrating something necessary and enjoyable into daily life." Parents are reminded that new classes will be offered in the fall and call 263-6846 for registration information. Class sizes are limited but a waiting list will be available to try to make room for all interested students, according to Hale. With her drive, enthusiasm and talent, along with those community leaders who feel strongly about arts thriving in Indian Orchard, countless young people interested in the arts have a wonderful future ahead. | ||||||
