Authentic Experience

Outside the soaring metal walls of the iconic Denver Art Museum (DAM) stands Iker Padilla Erivez with his family. The level 6 student and artist from Tennyson Knolls Preparatory School is here to see the exhibit Wild Things: The Art of Maurice Sendak.

“It’s so important for kids to have access to this,” says Iker’s art teacher Jennifer De Bie, who joined the family as they explored the whimsical drawings on display. “Kids need authentic experiences. Not just to see the pictures in a book but to see them on the wall and interact with them. That makes a huge difference.”

Arrangements for the visit were made last month with the help of DAM representative One Luv Hull, after learning of Iker’s award-winning artwork. Iker’s drawing was selected last Fall by district judges to represent Westminster Public Schools at the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) Student Art Show.

The Drawing

“This drawing is amazing,” wrote Hull, “the composition and details of this drawing are very well done and they have personality to them. He clearly has talent and it's great that so many are invested in cultivating his talent!”

Drawn entirely in pencil, Iker’s detailed illustration shows 5 stages in the transformation of a bunny into a dinosaur. “I thought to make the cutest thing possible and turn it into the scariest thing,” explained Iker proudly, “The 4th one is my favorite- as the teeth come out, and the claws.”

It’s those teeth and claws that brought to mind the famous illustrator Maurice Sendak, best known for creating the beloved children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are. Sendak spent his whole life perfecting his technique, drawing and refining the same characters over and over.

“An artist created this,” explains De Bie, emphasizing the importance of process. “An artist had to have the concept, the idea, and had to be able to draw this, hundreds of times, and work it out, on paper.”

Learning from the Process

At the end of the day, Iker, his sisters and his mother all sit at tables to draw on the postcards provided by the DAM. Iker, like many artists, is a perfectionist. “I made mistakes with the shadows,” he admits, recalling his award-winning drawing. “It could be better.”

But that’s OK, says De Bie, who has taught art to all three siblings. “It’s all a process for kids to be inspired by. You don’t get it right the first time, you need to be able to go back and try again and that’s OK, that’s how we learn.”

Note: Youth aged 18 and under receive free general admission to the Denver Art Museum every day thanks to the Free for Kids program. The Denver Art Museum is invested in making art accessible to all.