The Totem and Children's Art

Art itself is a personal process that keeps our imaginations alive.  When we are engaged in the creative process, our attention holds us spellbound.  Each new experience opens a new space for adventure.  A discovery ignites our enthusiasm, and often the result is that we develop a greater capacity to appreciate and understand what it is we see.  

When we share art, we also share in the magical capacity to inspire one another.  It is delightful to see the same subject from a different point of view.  

The children of Cinquegranelli Montessori School who illustrated the pages of this coloring book for you, are between 4 and 7 years of age.  In order to study the totem, they chose their own places to sit in the park, and each person's practical experience brought a different perspective to their compositions. We have selected these drawings and designs for you to enjoy.

We are sending copies of this coloring book to children in:

•  Perugia, Italy, Scuola dell'Infanzia S. Croce,
          casa dei bambini "Maria Montessori

• Moscow, Russia, "Maria's Children"

• Pichincha, Ecuador

• Mogadishu, Somalia, "A School for Life"

     The totem adds a richness to our little park.  It puts us in touch with a historical and cultural body of knowledge; a perspective passed on through centuries by native tribal artists.  Those who carved totems from cedar and spruce experienced nature in the Pacific Northwest through their own hands, hearts, and minds.  

As the guardian of a biological region, we are pleased that the Raven-Salmon-Bear-Frog totem is the symbolic guardian of our little Park.  We are grateful to Fred Lauth for his design and carving, to Andrea Faust who thought of the idea, and to the children of Cinquegranelli who have captured it's essence in all of their drawings.