ow excited I was to learn that this issue would focus on history, arts and culture. This is a perfect fit for this artist! “The Art Palette” classes I offer for students combines the creative aspects of art along with a bit of art history and a lot of personal confidence development and growth. So in this column, I’m pleased to have an opportunity to advocate the importance of art education in the schools. Sadly, the elements of providing cultural education, art and music is based on the money allocated for funding such programs, where reading, writing, math, history and the sciences are required. Yet, imagine how much an understanding the brilliance of Leonardo Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Beethoven, Mozart and countless others could add to a curriculum. Just as much as science and math and English are courses where children learn, so are the creative arts. In fact, there are many children who are ‘visual learners’ ART H Have a blessed day, Artist’s View Education Through and excel when they hear to hear music or a story of history and see the three dimensional colors that exist in this world. In one lesson, I taught the kids that many masterpieces, including The Last Supper, were painted with tempera paints! The children were amazed to learn this fact, and this sparked more conversation (and learning) about how important the jobs of art restoration became over the ages as well. I’ve been fortunate to have extraordinary opportunities to travel extensively and have seen many famous museums, sculptures, architecture and works of art. Using this life experience and knowledge to teach children about the importance of the renaissance, the beauty of impressionism, or the art of cubism is giving my students the ability to “see” a new way to view the world and a new way to experience history. Creative expression and art history are additional elements in development of an educated, wellrounded person, and it’s been my privilege to work with children in this capacity. As I was reflecting on this column, I thought about a card that a student had made for me with a simple message written in crayon: “Dear Miss Andi, Thank you for teaching me to love art.” From this artist’s view, I now see life a little more clearly. Andrea Andrea Seiderman is a commissioned artist and teacher who lives in Charleston, S.C. She enjoys frequent trips to the ocean with her family to enjoy sights, scents and sounds that inspire her art. 14 Piedmont Family Magazine 2013 • Issue 4