Zootown Art began as an after-school art project. Zootown operates directly with the community and has created something new and exciting in the arts for children K-12. The art classes were originally proposed by the work of parent Leea Pettinger and art teacher Janet Potts at Lewis and Clark Elementary School. Zootown Art has since then developed into an after-school art program running nearly five days a week. A summer program for K-12 students is available. Zootown focuses on student-centered education based on exploration of materials, an art studio atmosphere to study professional artists and concepts, and a gallery space in which children can create and talk about the art that enriches their lives.
Students develop interpersonal, verbal, visual-spatial, logistic, and material manipulation skills, while also communicating with one another and their audience during a gallery talk at the end of each session. During this final part of the program, students discuss what they've learned; they share points of view, give presentations about their projects, and write about their work and reflect. These student-centered goals are the main focus for Zootown Art. The program provides children with “active" opportunities to design, choose, express, create, identify, manipulate, verbalize, experience, and communicate about the experience of art making.
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Zootown Art after-school and summer program operates in a fee-generated format. By operating this way, it stays
self-sufficient. We meet at 3:30-5:15 p.m. at Rattlesnake, Lewis and Clark, and Paxson schools. Zootown Art may operate at many other schools in the valley next year. Zootown purchases materials from Missoula community art stores to support local growth. The program was only possible with the support of students and their parents, principals at the participating schools, and community donations from art shops and galleries around town. I'd like to say, thanks Missoula! for helping Zootown Art become a reality.
Sara Collins, Zootown Art instructor
Zootown Art logo designed by Amanda and Megan Christensen.
Examples of projects
Dragon sculptures
Students looked through books and discussed the differences and similarities of dragons across cultures. We informed one another of our knowledge about dragons and then asked ourselves: What does a dragon look like? Are they real? Useful? What would I do if I met one or owned one? Students explored historical meaning, legends, and stories of ancient Mesopotamia and Greece. They discussed the contemporary Komodo dragon in the Indonesian Islands. Then, they designed and created their own dragon sculptures out of papier-mache, wire and fine papers.
Sara Collins, Zootown Art teacher, helps Jackson Parker, a fourth-grader at Paxson School, put the finishing touches on his papier-mache dragon.
LYNN SCHWANKE/Missoulian
Wildflowers of Montana
Students created a still life of live flowers in the room. They studied the scientific parts of the flowers and different styles of watercolor painting. Then, they created their own still-life painting of Montana wildflowers. The flowers were donated by Cynthia's Fine Flowers of Missoula. Students built their observational skills, wildflowers of Montana knowledge, learned about watercolor painters and styles, and then utilized their information to create a work of art that they matted and took home.
Zootown artists from Lewis and Clark School show off the pottery they made after studying the Southwestern Natives who perfected the craft. From left are Bronwyn McCormick, and Emma Barrett-Catton.
Southwestern clay bowls
Using an air-dried red clay, the children made a bowl or container and decorated it in a Southwestern style using white and black paints. They studied the ancient Salado River people in present-day Arizona. We discussed the pottery of Mata Ortiz and the evolution of Mogollon and Anasazi pottery styles. After discussing the function of bowls and containers, the students picked a style and made their own.
What do the kids say about Zootown Art?
JORDAN TAYLOR, grade 5, Rattlesnake School: Art is your life, the rest is just detail. Art is beautiful, everything else is nice. Use it to express yourself.
MELISSA KOCH, grade 2, Lewis and Clark School: Zootown Art is really fun. We got to make paintings, dream catchers, birds and more. I had really fun there. The teacher is really nice. She helps us whenever we need help. She's really fun and funny. I had lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of fun there. Everyone was really nice and fun and funny. My favorite thing was the paintings. I painted a picture of a skiing place called Brighton. Two of my best friends were in there. It was the most favorite art class I had ever had and the only one I had ever had. I had a really great time there. I absolutely loved it there. It was soooooooooooo fun there. It's really cool there. I loved it.
KATHRYN DUFFNER, grade 1, Lewis and Clark School: The reason I came to Zootown Art is because I love art. I have the best art teacher.
LEXI DELRIDGE, grade 4, Lewis and Clark School: In Zootown Art I liked making the dream catchers. We also did birds, watercolors.
ZOE DEVLIN, grade 3, Chief Charlo School: I think that Zootown Art is really fun! I like doing the papier-mache bird. I absolutely positively love Zootown Art.
EMMA WIESE, grade 5, Lewis and Clark School: I liked all the projects. They were fun in their own way. Here's some that we did. We did pots and dragon papier-mache and paintings of flowers.
EMMA JEAN BARRETT-CATTON, grade 2, Lewis and Clark School: The thing I like best is making papier-mache dragons.
CLAUDIA WIESE, grade 2, Lewis and Clark School: I liked making the project because it was creative.
CAMRYN WILLIAMS, grade 2, Lewis and Clark School: I like Zootown Art because there are a lot of fun things to do there. My favorite thing to do there was masks and I liked the masks because it was made of clay.
