Final Project Artist Statement

Ever since I can remember, I’ve never been able to do anything artistic; I can’t draw, paint, or play an instrument. So, when I signed up to be involved in the arts & crafts program at Escuela Vieau, I don’t know what I was thinking, or expecting. Since February, I’ve worked with paint, felt, glitter, glue, glitter glue, paper-mâché, crayons, markers, and every other craft supply you can imagine. Art and being creative surpass language barriers and appeal to everyone’s sense of self expression and individuality. Actions speak louder than words, and I think that art does too. Working with the children at Escuela Vieau has opened my mind and my imagination. Through working together on various projects, they have absorbed me into their culture, traditions, and some of their language. I chose to have arts & crafts as my theme for my final project because I feel that it’s the primary way that I connected with the school community of faculty and students. Although we sometimes don’t speak the same language, the Escuela Vieau community has influenced my life more than I could have imagined.

By composing the images in my final project chronologically, I wanted to show my physical and mental journey through the halls of Escuela Vieau. I start by showing the school’s logo, a symbol of pride and multiculturalism. Then, I address the positive attitude practiced by the school community. I never felt like an outsider or intruder within the walls of Escuela Vieau. I feel like the message of attitude making “a world of difference” is especially relevant today because of the current immigration debates happening in our country and around the world. I move on through the space we typically do arts & crafts in to display the wall paintings of Daffy Duck & Spongebob Squarepants. I move down the hallways to show more crafts that are displayed on the walls. Dr. Seuss is not only an icon, but he’s an influential writer for children of all cultures, generations, and languages. From there, I show the different art projects I’ve done with the children throughout the months. The time with them seems to have flown by, especially when I consider the friendships I’ve made and experiences we’ve shared. I wanted to end my presentation with images of me leaving the school and taking my newfound knowledge, acceptance, and experiences into the surrounding community and beyond. Ironically, one side of the school lies on W. National Avenue. Not only is it important that we be accepting of other cultures, languages, and peoples nowadays, but we need to come together as a nation in these times of confusion, ignorance, and blind prejudice. This service learning experience has made me truly feel like I am a multicultural individual.

Final Film Project

Journal Entry 4

Today, Emily Brzezinski and I went down to Escuela Vieau to volunteer, but we found out that there was no after school program today. Instead, a Mother’s Day celebration was scheduled for earlier this morning. I was very disappointed that I would not be able to work with the children on their Mother’s Day projects, but I will hopefully be able to finish my hours next week sometime between classes and final exams. Instead of getting back on the bus right away, Emily and I talked to the woman at the Boys & Girls Club table for a short time before walking around the neighborhood. The colorful houses and friendly faces in the surrounding community always put a smile on my face, and since the sun was shining, it made the walk to the bus stop even more enjoyable. We looked around to see where the Walker’s Point signs led and proceeded to walk down W. National Ave. to S. 1^st Street. There are numerous individually owned taverns and restaurants on National Ave., which is refreshing to see instead of all of the chain stores and fast food syndicates, which typically make up city streets. I have a newfound appreciation for the community surrounding Escuela Vieau and its school community.

Poster to Billboard Contest Winners

Milwaukee Fire Department Fire Chief Douglas Holton and Lt. Brian Smith are in a photo with the poster to billboard winners.


Aime B., first grader at Escuela Vieau School won first place with her poster project about fire safety...

Media Essay Proposal

For my final project, I want to focus more on the theme of arts & crafts and how it has helped me bridge the gap between cultures. I feel like if I showed more photos of the projects I’ve worked on with the children, activities we’ve done together, and added music that we sometimes listen to while working, I would be able to better demonstrate how the children and I interact with each other. Also, I might think about adding some pictures of the hallways of the school and surrounding community to build a sense of art and culture in everyday life. This will create a more central theme than my last project.

Hispanic Tips

Website for Hispanic News & Info about the Milwaukee Latino community

Immigration Protest

Milwaukee's Hispanic Community speaks out against anti-immigration legislation

Journal Entry 3

As I'm nearing the end of my Service Learning experience at Escuela Vieau, I'm starting to realize just how much of an effect the school has had on me and how much I'm going to miss volunteering there. Seeing the children every week not only makes me remember what it was like to be a kid but also helps me look to the future to when I have my own children. Feeling like a member of not only the school's community, but a member of the staff/student family has made an impact on me as well.

The last time I was at the school, we started working on a paper-mâché project with the first and second graders. They had already put their first coat of newspaper strips and glue/water paste on their blown up balloons, but now, it was time for them to begin adding second and third layers. When I watched the children ask each other to help and flick paste around the room, I sometimes got frustrated, but it made me realize how much of a handful I must have been in art class. The girls worked much quieter and were more polite when asking for help, but the boys loudly proclaimed their stories from the day. Volunteering at Escuela Vieau not only reminded me of memories from my childhood, but with the help of the staff and students, I made some of my own memories within the school’s walls as well.

Escuela Vieau Video

¡Adelante! | Program | #1113

Adult literacy program at Vieau School

Escuela Vieau Article

"Catholic high schools recruiting more Hispanics" article from The Business Journal

Easter and Playground

Additional Photos

Film Essay

Artist's Statement

Volunteering at a new place is always a bit scary at first, especially when you aren’t familiar with the neighborhood or speak the language well. But, working at Escuela Vieau made me feel as though I was part of a large, accepting family that was there to teach and guide me as much as I was there to help them. I worked with Ms. Rodriguez and her daughter, Jasmine, doing arts and crafts with the first-fourth graders in the after school program. Over the past few weeks, we have worked on several projects and gotten to know each other well. Ms. Rodriguez doesn’t speak perfect English, and I certainly don’t speak Spanish well, so this sometimes becomes a challenge for us when we’re trying to explain something to each other, but Jasmine is always willing to help translate or interpret our body language when we try to communicate. This feeling of willing and excited exchange is the same when I work with the children. The first and second graders are usually screaming and hitting each other when they come into the room, and Jasmine and I try to quiet them down and focus their attention on the task at hand. Most of the students are bilingual or are learning English quickly, and I noticed right away that they easily slip in and out of both languages while talking, sometimes without realizing it. Once in a while, some of the kids also try to whisper swear words in Spanish to each other, but I often catch them and give them a look (because I know enough Spanish to know that’s not allowed in school), so they usually giggle and keep doing their work. The children also try to teach me words in Spanish and ask me to tell them how to say something in English if I can remember what the translation is. Working with the kids made me think of the phrase “show, don’t tell,” which often happens when we use our hands or re-describe something while communicating with each other. When I started bringing my camera with me, I began photographing the outside of the building, projects from other classes, and signs in the workroom. As I started to get to know the kids better, they began asking me to photograph their projects, take pictures with them, and let them take pictures with my camera. This added another dimension to our communication because we now had a new language of images through which to communicate. The camera let me see a new side of the students and capture moments I had shared with them. Volunteering in a new community and thinking of my camera as a new language immersed me in another culture, and I can’t wait to continue on my growing journey with the students and staff of Escuela Vieau.

Journal Entry 2

As I have been spending more time with the students, I’ve begun learning their names and some kids recognize me now. Ms. Rodriguez’s groups finished doing the quilt project last week, so on Thursday of this week, we began doing projects for Easter. I helped the first graders connect the dots on a picture of the Easter Bunny and color it in with crayons. Then, I helped the second graders decorate paper eggs with different colors and designs. After that, I helped a group of boys decorate a basket for the Easter event going on in two weeks. We took the bottom part of a gallon of milk and glued pieces of tissue paper to the sides. Some of the boys got a hold of spray adhesive and proceeded to spray each other, so not only did it smell terrible but their hands stuck together. It was a very nice day outside yesterday, so we took the second and third graders outside to play on the jungle gym. There, I saw some of the girls and boys I had worked with in previous weeks (Efrain, Shermon, Diana, Ana). They showed me how to do some flips that they learned how to do, played tag, and ran up and down the slides.
Today was my first Friday volunteering, so I did a lot of new activities with the kids. First, I helped two third grade boys do their homework in the teacher’s lounge. They had to write to their pen pals in Spanish, and I had five years of Spanish, so I was able to help them a little, but their English was almost perfect so it made it very easy to talk to them. Also, the kids got to rollerblade in the gym, so some of the other UWM students and I helped set up cones that fell down and teach some kids how to rollerblade.

Journal Entry 1

Last week at orientation at Escuela Vieau, I signed up to volunteer on Thursdays from 4:30-6:00 in the arts and crafts program. Today was my first day, and after getting lost a few times, I was finally able to meet up with my group of students. Ms. Rodriguez and her assistant, Jasmine, were in charge of the first and second graders for the first part of the program. The students had drawn pictures of what/who they admire earlier in the week. We worked with the students to copy the pictures onto pieces of felt by using glitter paint. The idea is that Ms. Rodriguez will sew together all of the pieces to make one giant quilt. Getting the students to quiet down and actually work was no easy task. The kids I met were very polite and tried to speak to me in English, but I had five years of Spanish, so I understand some of what they were saying to each other. I helped a little girl draw a pink and yellow flower on a piece of green felt. Then, I helped a boy named Daniel write his name and draw a ladybug on a white T-shirt he was working on.

After forty-five minutes of working and painting, we moved on to the third graders to help them with the same project. The third graders were calmer and more articulate in what they wanted to do. One boy told me about how he won the spelling bee that day, as he was drawing a blue tulip. Another boy and girl wouldn’t stop teasing each other and eventually squirted glitter paint all over them. Students would get upset if their picture didn’t turn out perfectly, but it’s important to encourage them to keep trying and that it’s their unique picture.