Dayton Elementary students immersed in art

Kindergartners created their own art during Andrea Delphin's temporary art room last week at Dayton Elementary School.

The classes for all 426 students at the elementary school between March and June were made possible, in part, by a $3,000 grant from Nevada Arts Council written by staff at Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey counties, a regional nonprofit.

Delphin, who donated additional teaching hours to the spring classes, is a local artist with a masters' in art education whose work has been included in juried shows in Las Vegas.

"Kids just love coming in here," Delphin said. "At every recess I've got a packed house."

Delphin explained that the collaboration among the school, the Arts Council, and the Coalition has been positive, with the school matching the grant funding by providing a temporary space for her art classroom and some of the art supplies.

The students' work is displayed throughout the school, not only in the classrooms, but on the walls and ceilings of the lobby and front office.

The students created their own art projects with the theme "Underwater creatures: Real or imaginary?"

Delphin said they also learned "how to assemble things they might not think of as sculpture. This project helped them understand process. And they've developed new confidence about their work and go right to it. When they come into this room, they say, "Wow! What a cool room. They love coming in."

This project is funded, in part, by a grant from the Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.