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The power of the pencil
By MICHELE MILLER, Times Staff Writer
LUTZ -- It was a day for students to take on the identities of Auguste Rodin, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas or Mary Cassatt. A day to learn about artistic terms such as "shading," "shadow" and "horizon." Best of all, perhaps, it was a day for kids to let loose and be brave artists -- to fight the urge to use their erasers and dare to draw outside the lines. Last week, some 1,000 budding artists at Denham Oaks Elementary gathered in the school cafeteria during two assemblies to learn how to draw in 3-D from Mark Kistler, author of 3-D drawing books and the star of the public television series Mark Kistler's Imagination Station. The students came equipped with some basic materials -- a pencil, paper and a notebook -- along with an eagerness to learn something new. Kistler would not disappoint. Using an overhead projector, Kistler took students and teachers through a series of lessons that would add dimension and depth and perhaps forever change the way they draw. Melding humor with craft, the mustachioed artist with a knack for communicating with the young held most of the students spellbound throughout the assemblies. That was, of course, in between all that giggling. "He's funny," said first-grader Sammi Kopriva while showing off her completed works. "I can draw better now," said Madison MacKenna, a kindergartener with a fondness for sketching flowers. The visit from Kistler was a collaboration, of sorts, between Cindy Smith and Carolyn Reichner, the art teachers at Denham Oaks and Quail Hollow Elementary schools respectively. Both applied for and received a $500 grant from the local Target to help pay for the $1,700 assemblies, said Smith, adding that the PTA and school's art department picked up the rest of the tab. Kistler, who lives in Orange County, California, met with Denham Oaks students in the morning and those at Quail Hollow in the afternoon. He also conducted an evening workshop for families at the Pasco Schools Center of the Arts at Wesley Chapel High School. Having Kistler come was the first step toward developing a lasting collaboration between the two schools that, in the future, might include a combined show involving all the arts, Smith said. "We want to include musicians, too, as well as the whole community," Smith said. The Kistler 3-D presentation was certainly a good start. "We wanted to do something to get families more involved with their children, and we thought this would be fun," Smith said. She said Kistler was a great choice. "He's wonderful," she said. "He's a big proponent of literacy, and he really encourages kids to use their imaginations." Indeed, Kistler, who signs his drawings as "Markypoo" encouraged students to "dare to draw" as they took on the task of drawing a hatching baby dinosaur. He also advised them to go to the library and check out books and illustrations -- especially those by Dr. Seuss. Just by using a little thing called "pencil power," Kistler said, "You can go anywhere. You can go under the ocean or into space. Your pencil is the magic wand of your imagination."' Those who would like to know more about Mark Kistler can visit his Web site: www.draw3d.com. Fun things to check out include: drawing lessons, the genius student art gallery, Masters Gallery and the Top Ten Art Lists.
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