Students show their art created on the Imagine Bus.
For two hours every Tuesday after school at Sheppard Elementary, The Imagine Bus Project North parks its mobile arts studio out in front and gets ready to welcome kids who are in the CalSERVES after school program. With yellow "bus passes" in hand, the kids board the Bus to create whatever project is happening for that week. It might be making rainsticks or clay bird nests or even monoprints with our very own printing press. Or maybe we will learn about a school of art and do a project in that school's style.
The kids get to learn about the larger world beyond Sonoma County: be it folk arts from other countries, art influences from times gone by, or even principles of art making, while creating a project that they can take home and proudly share with their family. We, on the Bus, know how important art exposure and experiences are for these kids as they build self esteem and self mastery. And art can even improve academic grades! But most importantly, it teaches a child how to dream and imagine beyond his current scope of vision, creating a more hopeful future with broader options to explore as they mature.
To learn more about the Imagine Bus Project, visit their website: imaginebusproject.org
