ARAS - Splash! Spring 2000

Picasso once said: "It takes a lifetime to learn to paint like a child." It only took John Becker sixty years to make the pilgrimage from kindergarten student at Brown Public School to the Avenue Road Arts School next door. At both schools he learned that "getting it perfect" is not what matters.

John Becker John was inspired by his great grandmother, a serious and accomplished artist. Both he and his twin brother always loved to draw - his brother became an architect and John an engineer.

Since enrolling in the school, John has taken fifteen different classes including Watercolour, Drawing and Sketching, Acrylics, Portraiture and Sculpture. Even though he sometimes paints at home, he still finds the three-hour class focus helps keep him on track.

John's training as an engineer ingrained in him the idea that every line is important and that every effort would be graded. He had to learn to let go of this inner critic in order to relax with his work and just enjoy it. A unique exercise that helped this process was the "sixty second gesture drawing." You draw quickly and then you throw your drawing on the floor - you literally let go.

John has been 'letting go' of his intense work life, gradually. To celebrate his first day of retirement, John signed on for a full day of art instruction with teacher Sadko Hadzihasanovic. "That way I'm getting unhooked from work one day at a time." John served for over twenty years as Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and of Business Operations at York University. On retiring from York, he became a "helper" in his wife's typesetting and journal producing business which publishes fifteen magazines for non-profit and academic groups. He continues as managing editor of Urban History Review. His passion for genealogy has allowed him to trace his own family roots back to King Edward II!

Just as the five year old John Becker saw a world of possibilities as a Kindergarten student at the Brown School more than sixty years ago, today his newly developed skills as an artist open a world of possibilities to him. As he travels, spends time in the country, or observes the architecture of the city, he can now capture moments in space and time in his own unique way. The images he creates give him more and more satisfaction as he becomes increasingly proficient with his art.

Faculty Profile		Student Profile
Jenny Soden: A Passion for Creative Discovery		John Becker: A Return to the World of Possibilities
From a very young age, instructor / artist, Jenny Soden has always felt that creating art was like looking at something with new eyes. Her father would inspire her to stop and really take the time to look at objects and discover the details. "Look at the tree - notice how it has lots of different colours." Jenny attributes her creative intuition with this perceptive manner of viewing the world around her. Even though she credits her father for the passion she has for creating art, it was never imposed on her. She remembers wanting to do art since she was a toddler, bringing her art supplies with her everywhere she went, even on family vacations. She quickly developed an obsession for drawing. Her parents encouraged this by keeping a sketchbook for every year, since she was in Kindergarten. "It's really neat to look back on the sketch books and compare them to the kids I teach now and see how similar the art is." Jenny started taking formal lessons in grade nine with a professional artist. She knew, at that time, that she wanted to eventually work within an arts field. Her two passions were biology and art and she wanted to find a way to incorporate both. She discovered that one could actually be a medical illustrator and decided to pursue Illustration at Dawson College. This led to creating freelance illustrations for medical pamphlets and brochures. She describes her work, in the past, as being highly detailed. In fact, Jenny feels that she became obsessed with the details in her drawings. In many ways she needed to find the spontaneity that she once experienced as a child. Teaching children was a natural evolution in this artistic journey of discovery. "I have now learned to enjoy a sense of play in my own work and it has a lot to do with working with kids. They inspire me to be more spontaneous," says a beaming Jenny. Jenny started teaching children quite early on - teaching art, swimming, skiing, rock climbing - all the things that she herself loves to do. She has been teaching at the Avenue Road Arts School since 1997 in the Kindergarten classes, the Mixed Media classes and the Toddler Arts program. Jenny also is the Co-ordinator of the Muskoka Arts Camp in Port Carling. She believes that the more she teaches, the more she learns. She wants to keep challenging herself and the kids to try things that they've never tried before. Jenny describes her projects as layered with many different steps to walk through and she loves watching children use certain materials for the very first time while soaking up what she is teaching them. "I'm always curious to see what they'll come up with. It's exciting to see that the child loves coming back, week after week." Her philosophies of teaching are simple - "I want it to be fun. Nothing should come in the way of doing art. I want every child to have their first art experience and first memories of doing art to be positive." She hopes that all her students walk away feeling proud of what they have done - what they have created with their own hands, even if it doesn't look like something in particular. Jenny would like to also inspire the mothers and care givers who attend her Toddler classes, too. She hopes she's passing on the idea that children are not just limited to basic markers and crayons. She wants to inspire them to keep doing this kind of art at home even if they never return to her class. Jenny admits that teaching children can be challenging. But, she is adamant when she says that, "You learn more about art, by teaching children." Although it's important to her that she keeps the balance between teaching and being an artist, teaching has become the priority. However, by continuing to explore her own art, she ensures that she continues to be an excited and enthusiastic teacher excitement and enthusiasm that will definitely be transferred to the children. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE PROGRAMS JENNY SODEN TEACHES CALL (416) 961-1502 or send an email to info@avenueroadartsschool.com. Wedding Bells Getting married this Spring, is Toddler Arts / Mixed Media / Muskoka Arts Instructor, Jenny Soden. Jenny will marry Jake Thomas on May 20 in Muskoka on Lake Rosseau. After a honeymoon in the Carribean, Jenny will return to the Avenue Road Arts School to continue teaching her very popular programs. Also tying the knot, this summer, is Nursery / Junior Kindergarten instructor Elizabeth Cancelli. Elizabeth will marry Brent Retter on July 29 in Toronto. After honeymooning in Hawaii, Elizabeth will return to teach Summer Camp. We wish them both much future happiness!		Picasso once said: "It takes a lifetime to learn to paint like a child." It only took John Becker sixty years to make the pilgrimage from kindergarten student at Brown Public School to the Avenue Road Arts School next door. At both schools he learned that "getting it perfect" is not what matters. John was inspired by his great grandmother, a serious and accomplished artist. Both he and his twin brother always loved to draw - his brother became an architect and John an engineer. Since enrolling in the school, John has taken fifteen different classes including Watercolour, Drawing and Sketching, Acrylics, Portraiture and Sculpture. Even though he sometimes paints at home, he still finds the three-hour class focus helps keep him on track. John's training as an engineer ingrained in him the idea that every line is important and that every effort would be graded. He had to learn to let go of this inner critic in order to relax with his work and just enjoy it. A unique exercise that helped this process was the "sixty second gesture drawing." You draw quickly and then you throw your drawing on the floor - you literally let go. John has been 'letting go' of his intense work life, gradually. To celebrate his first day of retirement, John signed on for a full day of art instruction with teacher Sadko Hadzihasanovic. "That way I'm getting unhooked from work one day at a time." John served for over twenty years as Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and of Business Operations at York University. On retiring from York, he became a "helper" in his wife's typesetting and journal producing business which publishes fifteen magazines for non-profit and academic groups. He continues as managing editor of Urban History Review. His passion for genealogy has allowed him to trace his own family roots back to King Edward II! Just as the five year old John Becker saw a world of possibilities as a Kindergarten student at the Brown School more than sixty years ago, today his newly developed skills as an artist open a world of possibilities to him. As he travels, spends time in the country, or observes the architecture of the city, he can now capture moments in space and time in his own unique way. The images he creates give him more and more satisfaction as he becomes increasingly proficient with his art.

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