Utopia Art Class deemed a success

by Elizabeth Tarski
The Uvalde Leader-News
Thursday, August 15, 2002

All Julie Verschoyle asked the children in the Utopia Community Center to gather around her, it became apparent how happy they were to be there. Two children rushed to sit right next to their art teacher, as others happily crowded around the circle.

Verschoyle explained to the children that they were gathered to do 'informed critics' on each work they had completed the week before - and she explained what an informed critic was.

"We're just discussing each piece," she said, simply enough.

As she pointed at each child, they were required, reluctantly or otherwise, to go stand by their piece and tell the rest of the class about it.

"We're all getting over our stage fright in this class," noted the teacher.

The class had spent the first week working on the basics of drawing and painting, and now had a few minutes to revel in the glory of their first masterpiece before moving on to their next great work.

"Some of our pictures are about world peace," said 9 1/2 year-old Shane Findling.

Verschoyle is the founder of the Color the World in Peace program, and is collecting works depicting peace from all different levels of artists, for an exhibit which she plans to take all over the world.

She hopes to get some pieces for her project from the Utopia Art Classes.

"The fact that artwork (for Color the World in Peace) is coming out of Utopia is truly a fabulous metaphor," said Verschoyle.

As the children went around and spoke about their artwork, Verschoyle commented on how refreshing it was to see peace come so easily to the children.