TO ERR IS HUMAN TO CREATE IS DIVINE

By Kati Mowat-Nicholson

Ivette Hermann greets me warmly, wearing a paint-splattered apron. Something about this talented artist’s open, accepting smile compels me to share a deep dark secret. “I’m not good at art. I can’t draw.” I mumble, embarrassed.

She laughs reassuringly. “You’re saying ‘I can’t draw,’ and that makes you think you aren’t artistic? The ability to draw something realistically, that’s a technical skill. But drawing is just one way to express yourself creatively.”

Fortunately, Pegasus students are provided many opportunities to express themselves creatively. In visual arts, students are exposed to mediums such as paints and pastels, ceramics and sculpture, glass-fusing, photography, printmaking, and textiles. In the performing arts, they act, sing, dance, and play instruments.

I realize how limited my definition of art has been and I feel encouraged. Hermann is obviously deft at breaking down any barriers her students have erected around their inner artist.

Creativity Takes If you can walk, Courage you can dance. “Art takes practice, just like sports or If you can talk, music. Creating art is about the process, not necessarily the product,” adds Lindsay you can sing. Petralia, whose passions include printmaking and textile art. She teaches visual arts to Kindergarten through third grade. Hermann, an experienced visual arts teacher agrees, “At Pegasus, we want to elevate content. Content is your self-expression, your desire to create. And it takes courage to express yourself and to be creative,” she explains. To drive that point home, students are introduced to art and artists that are traditionally overlooked. “We do talk about ‘The Masters,’” Hermann explains, “But, they come from a very Eurocentric perspective. I think it is crucial for our students to see multiple points of view, particularly ones that are different from their own.” The stories of contemporary

artists or artists with different backgrounds, life experiences, and histories resonate with Hermann’s students, “When our students learn more about somebody, they think, ‘Oh! I get your story now!’ and they feel more comfortable just being themselves.”

Creating an environment where her students feel safe, knowing they are not alone and that they are an important part of something bigger than themselves, is intrinsic to how Hermann teaches.

Turning Mistakes into Masterpieces

For many students, the music room and theater stage are also safe spaces where they are free to take risks and work through mistakes. Students often feel the need to be perfect, and Cheryl Wilson, who teaches music and performing arts, sees the impact this pressure has on her students. “Younger students will try anything. They have lots of ideas! But around third grade, suddenly they are afraid they aren’t going to have the right idea.” Janice Krell, writer, choreographer, and theater teacher adds, “We want our students to feel comfortable taking risks. We want them to be confident that when they do make a mistake, they will recover from it, and they will learn from it, and maybe apply what they learned next time.”

“Mistakes happen,” agrees Petralia, “Most things in life don’t turn out how they’re planned. In my class, students learn that sometimes it’s more fun to work with a mistake; to just see where it takes you.” To reinforce this philosophy, each year Petralia shares one of her favorite books with her students. “I love reading, Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg!” she exclaims, “It reminds students that a mistake is really just an opportunity to get creative, to use what you’ve learned!”

When a three-dimensional art project kept falling over, a group of students worked together, applying their well-honed problem-solving skills. Petralia remembers the moment fondly, “It took a lot of engineering and experimenting to figure out ‘Why is it doing that? What is working? What’s not working? Let’s cut it. Let’s glue it. Let’s fold it.’ After much perseverance and patience, they figure it out,” she recalls.

A Shared Experience

It’s one thing to make a mistake on a canvas, but it’s quite another to do so, on stage, in front of hundreds of people. But, much like life, theater is meant to be a shared experience.

“In theater,” Krell shares, “students have to remember all their lines and their blocking, they have to remember their choreography, and remember their lyrics. It takes grit and endurance.” Wilson adds, “If you forget a line or your zipper breaks, you have to find a way back from that. You have to solve that problem in real-time.”

Fortunately, students and performers alike have learned they can count on each other. “Theater teaches you not only about relying on yourself, but also about relying on each other.” says Krell “They may not normally hang out together, but they help each other, they trust each other.” Overcoming these challenges together creates strong bonds between the students.

Wilson smiles broadly, “When it all clicks, there is something really great about being a part of something bigger than you. You know you were a part of it, that you contributed, but it’s a nice shift to say ‘Look what we did!’” Arts encourage students to find and express themselves, bonding them together as part of the Pegasus community.

Kati Mowat-Nicholson is the proud mom of Kindergartener, Charlotte (’30) and step-mom to two teenage girls. When she isn’t SAHM-ing, she is burning the midnight oil designing websites, writing, and producing Read-Aloud videos for kids on her YouTube channel, The Reading Lap.