Released on = February 21, 2006, 9:04 am

Press Release Author = 4-poster.com

Industry = Agriculture

Press Release Summary = Eager second-graders crowd around a classroom art table,
standing on tiptoe to have a better view.

Press Release Body = Eager second-graders crowd around a classroom art table,
standing on tiptoe to have a better view.

Luis Garay, the object of pupils\' attention at the Ralph M. Captain Elementary
School in Clayton, is seated calmly with a partly finished illustration in front of
him.

\"This will become a book,\" says art instructor MaryEllen Picker, causing the
students to sidle closer to the table. \"And you will be able to say you remember
when it wasn\'t finished.\"

Garay picks up a small, thinly bristled paintbrush. He squirts out pea-sized amounts
of blue and red paint on a plate.

\"That\'s it?\" asks a surprised student.

Garay nods and delicately dips the brush into the paint. In tiny, calculated
movements Garay places microscopic dots on the carefully mapped-out illustration in
front of him.

When he tells them it takes about a month to complete each page of illustration, the
second-graders look at him with disbelief.

The illustration Garay is working on is for a book titled \"Alfredito.\" The
children\'s book comprises 20 illustrations. It will take him just under two years to
finish them all.

A renowned illustrator and author from Granada, Nicaragua, Garay is visiting St.
Louis for about a month, spending time with students in the Clayton, Affton and
Ladue school districts.

Picker and fellow teacher Marty Miller are responsible for bringing Garay to St.
Louis, for his first school visits in the United States.

Picker met Garay last summer when she and Miller traveled to Granada for an art
exchange. Before the trip, Captain Elementary School raised money for about 50
school uniforms for students in Nicaragua. Picker and Miller brought about 200 books
to Granada as well.

In a city where books are rare - Garay never owned a book while growing up there -
the illustrator\'s current project is a lending library.

Garay first studied industrial engineering in Nicaragua but decided after graduation
to follow his passion for art. He perfected his artistry while studying in Toronto
before returning to his hometown to promote literacy. Picker said that upon meeting
Garay, she knew she wanted him to do workshops with her students to show them his
meticulous process of putting graphics and words together.

As an art instructor for kindergarten through fifth grade, Picker said a goal of
hers is that Garay\'s technique is realized by her classes. After watching Garay at
work, the students are creating their own sketches and writing text to go with their
illustrations.

\"I want them to be able to portray images in a more accurate and meaningful way,
just like Mr. Garay does,\" she said. \"All these things you put into the image are
meaningful.\"

In the classroom, Picker\'s pupils are intrigued by the method. They are inspired by
the finished project - real, published books that Garay and their teachers read
aloud to them.

.






Web Site = http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?B

Contact Details = albania
516 e. winter
greenville , 62246
$$country

618-780-0948
rs6471@yahoo.com
http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?B