A Memory from Kindergarten

A young artist explores storytelling through vibrant colors, mixing creativity with imagination.

When I was in kindergarten, I remember my teacher, Miss Mary, asking me to hold her finger as she led me to Mr. Tate's office, the school’s principal. Miss Mary also had a brush & easel with a large piece of paper mounted on it, with blue, red, and yellow paint waiting in Mr. Tate’s office. It was the same kind of art-making setup we had in our kindergarten class. Then I remember Miss Mary saying to Mr. Tate, “I want to show you something Eli did in my classroom.” Then she gave me a paintbrush and prompted, “Eli, just show Mr. Tate exactly how you painted the squirrel you did in our class today.” Without saying a word, I picked up the brush and, within a very short time, finished a replica of a squirrel I painted in Miss Mary’s class for Mr. Tate to see. The squirrel was standing upright with a large, bushy S-shaped tail. Then Miss Mary said to Mr. Tate, “I didn’t teach Eli how to paint the squirrel the way he did. Eli figured out on his own how to mix and create the color brown using primary colors! Isn’t that amazing?!”

I never imagined that this memory would be an unassuming building block to many others that would later play out in life. Some twenty years later, I followed my passion and studied the fine arts in college, majoring in visual communications. My interest in the visual arts led me to further pursue and practice my craft through illustration, graphic design, photography, and film.

The memory of my kindergarten teacher taking me to the principal’s office was probably the first time an educator assessed and recognized my potential, which positively affected my thoughts and feelings as a visual learner, which in turn influenced my choices leading up to where I am now as a multimedia artist and aspiring educator.