In a small classroom in Finland students stop, take a moment, and visually explore photos of kids attending school in China. They see, if only for a few moments the visual characteristics and features of the child in the photograph. Using tracing paper the students traced the figures out of the photographs and onto a piece of paper. They added color to the students along with their own artistic touches. Throughout the process the students were encouraged to look closely at the photographs and asked; What did they see? Who is in the picture? What can you learn about them, what is the image telling you? Once the drawing were completed I transcribed short letters from each artist to the child in the photograph. They explained short things about themselves such as their favorite foods and hobbies.
Now they eagerly await for the exchanging of artworks.
Sincerely,
Rachel Kangas
The artists in Grade 2 (8-9 years old) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China are making and sharing art with the artists at Linguajoy (7-10 years old) in Helsinki, Finland.
