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Teaching Artist Tom Woodruff Visits Elementary Schools (with slideshow)

Photo by Crystal Hayduk. Artist Tom Woodruff recently visited North Creek and South Meadows to teach an art class.

By Crystal Hayduk

Tom Woodruff welcomes about 100 excited children into the cafeteria at North Creek Elementary School as they take their seats in front of large folded sheets of drawing paper and sharpened pencils.

For the next half hour, he guides them into an adventure through a story that he illustrates while they “draw along” on their paper.

Woodruff’s art presentation incorporates story-telling with science, history, and a dash of stand-up comedy, speaking to children at their level with a sense of humor that they understand and appreciate.

“Do fish have belly buttons,” asks Woodruff.  

The kindergarten and first-grade students giggle as they answer no.

Photo by Crystal Hayduk. Tom Woodruff assists students.

But Woodruff tells them that as artists, they can give their fish a belly button—then shows them how to turn the dot of a belly button into a fin by connecting lines and shapes.

Woodruff is a teaching artist who spent three days in late April at North Creek and South Meadows Elementary Schools, visiting with nearly 1,000 children to talk about butterflies, life beneath the sea, rainforests, and shipwrecks. “I cover a variety of topics based on the curriculum in the classroom during my visit,” he said. 

He describes his art presentations as “interactive drawing projects” or “illustration workshops.” “I teach the kids to observe, to notice things, to go on an adventure, and to include themselves in it in some way,” said Woodruff. Students begin their drawings on the front side of a folded sheet of drawing paper so they can open the “book” and add to it later.

Woodruff, a Northport resident, grew up in Ann Arbor in a family that includes writers, so words and books have been as important to him as art. Libraries are one of his favorite teaching environments because he can more easily reference the importance of literature and explain how illustrations and words work together to form a tale. “Every line is part of a picture, just like every word is part of a story,” he said.

Woodruff’s art career began with a love for sailing. He drew pictures and made models of boats, which helped him gain knowledge to land him jobs in the boating industry from an early age. “I’ve done the hot and the cold of it,” he said, “from sailing as a kid on Silver Lake, Portage Lake, and Whitmore Lake to working on shrimp boats in Georgia and iron ore ships in the Great Lakes.”

He studied art and natural sciences at the former Grand Valley College to be closer to Lake Michigan, combining his artistic bent with his love for nature. He began teaching 30 years ago after publication of the book he illustrated by author John Mitchell, “Michigan: An Illustrated History for Children.”

Kindergartener Eleana Weid said that her Life Beneath the Sea adventure was “…amazing, and Mr. Woodruff can draw really good.”

“I enjoyed observing my students during the drawing process because they were thoroughly engaged in Mr. Woodruff’s storytelling and instructional techniques,” said Heather Hay, first grade teacher. “At the end of their time together, each student had produced a completely unique and intricate drawing of a pond setting. It was clear from their engagement, response, enthusiasm, and pride, that they enjoyed the artist experience.”   

Woodruff said he enjoys working with teachers, who “…are among the most noble, giving, and sharing of professions. And it’s fun working with the children. I love seeing them make connections between art and life.”

For more information or to contact Woodruff, visit his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Woodruff.Designs/

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