Jillian Branch

Posted –  May 20, 2010

My name is Jillian and for the past eight months, I have had the privilege of interning at Baltimore Clayworks in the Community Arts Department. It has been an enlightening experience. Working within Baltimore city as opened my eyes to the realities of the public school system and the hardships that our youth have to go through every day. I am now aware of the importance of community arts programs and the benefit of giving every child the joy and opportunity to make beautiful works of art. Since I have been involved with Baltimore Clayworks, people have asked me on numerous occasions what exactly do I do and “what is community arts”? At first I wasn’t sure what to tell them. The first couple of months I would say to them, I am not really sure. As time went on I began to realize what community arts are. Yesterday I was discussing with my parents why I work in so-called “dangerous” parts of the city. I explained to them that the children in those parts of the city don’t necessarily have the privileges that the children in the Baltimore county school district have or even the private school children have. In working with these children, I have learned why it is so important for community arts organizations to continue to bring the experience of art to these communities and children. In the classroom, the children are so eager to learn and are diligent in working on their projects. After finishing a project the only thing they are contemplating is what to create next. It is so encouraging to hear from the students how excited and proud they are about the work they have made in class. I have found that the children of these communities need encouragement and acceptance as well as the reassurance of success. I believe that these are beneficial for a child’s development. If there is a scarce amount of encouragement in these children’s lives outside of community arts then we as community arts teachers can help give it through the use of art education. The main reason I wanted to share my experience is to help spread the idea of community arts and its benefits for all people involved. I want to help create a better understanding of what community arts teachers do and their vital role within the community. As a community arts teacher I have learned that art is not a privilege but instead a right, that every person despite background, race, age, religion or social class is entitled to experience the creation of art and clay and the benefits of art education.