Story by Tim Confort, Illustration by Blake Poyner.

Ever since I arrived in Sisters, Oregon, four years ago, I have been aware of the strong artistic influence in our community. Art galleries and an annual quilt show attract visitors, help fuel the local economy, and bring creative people to this area. However, I also have been aware of the great budget debates and difficulties in deciding what to cut and what to fund within our school arts programs.

We never have had a visual arts specialist at Sisters Elementary School. (We have teaching specialists for music and physical education.) Without an expert on staff, how have we met student and staff needs in the arts? Or satisfied a strong interest group's preferences for art in our school? Basically, each year we have had an artist or two work with our students through an artists-in-residence program. Volunteer artists, parent helpers, and staff have worked to integrate art with other subjects. Various grade-level art projects have been tied to a schoolwide art scope and sequence. But is this enough?

After the "art issue" surfaced in at least three parent meetings, we decided to explore ways to enhance what we offer our students. We have developed many new directions, but one project has been unique and quite successful.

Our project began in fall 1997 with discussion that included a local artist and parent named Paul Bennett; teacher Diane Jacobsen; Lucy Burton, Sisters Community College Center Director; and myself. We were looking at projects and activities that would help fund artists-in-residence programs. Coincidentally, our Sisters Parent, Teacher, and Community group was focusing on arts within the elementary school. Burton promoted the idea of grant writing and spread the word about the Oregon Arts Commission Grants. Soon, we developed an interest group plus a work group to develop the various partners, grant writing, and process. Ultimately, we submitted a grant proposal to develop a student-made collection of sketches, games, and activities that would describe and highlight the history and points of interest in our Sisters area. We hoped to create a humorous and interesting book to sell to our community and tourists, generating revenues to support future art projects at our school.

When our grant application was approved in January 1998, we moved forward. However, we had to adjust our budget, plan, and activities because the allocation was 50 percent less than our proposal. That meant a longer timeline to compensate the participating artist and more risk to cover our costs.

In the early spring of 1998, Bennett met with each of our fourth-grade classes to assess their attitudes and their sketching and drawing skills. Then, for the next five months, he met with these three classes every week. Each session was cofacilitated by the classroom teacher and the artist. "What the students enjoyed most," Bennett said, "was simply learning how to draw." At first, he modeled sketching techniques on the chalkboard and encouraged students to draw with him. As their skills progressed, he encouraged them to draw their own ideas and designs. He allowed for student and teacher practice and evaluated progress. Periodically, Bennett and the teachers met to review the project and plan the next steps toward integrating sketching with the social studies curriculum.

By mid-May, the students had completed their sketches, using a whimsical style to depict sites and people significant in local history. The students wrote stories to accompany their artwork. Meanwhile, Bennett and I developed a publishing plan to produce a booklet, Sisters through the Eyes of Sisters' Kids. At the end of the school year, with our 72-page booklet printed, we held book signings and sales, attended by students and the resident artist.

Booklet sales continued over the summer and into the fall. By September we broke even, covering our costs to produce the booklet and compensate the artist, and are now making a profit.

Then we moved into Phase Two to help bridge school-to-work and art-to-business, with particular focus on serving the needs of our at-risk students. We formed three business work groups around research and development, marketing, and sales. By Thanksgiving, we had developed a new, related project: greeting cards made from select student sketches. We diversified our marketing and sales to local businesses, Bend businesses, and fairs and special activities. Thirty students who were now fifth-graders participated in this phase, and at least 20 percent of them were students we would characterize as "at risk."

Another side project was developed independently by the local Sisters Bakery: a coffee mug featuring a student sketch. The bakery owner proposed selling these mugs, and encouraged other businesses to do the same. Two other businesses have joined the team. They chose different student sketches for their mugs. Thirty-three percent of the money generated from the sales of mugs will come back to our school to fund art education.

With a funding base in place, we are now planning our future artist residence and arts activities.

Overall, this project has been a great success in developing student and teacher sketching abilities, enhancing their understand and appreciation of art, and developing marketable, profitable art products.

What worked: specific work teams for various stages of the project; public relations efforts with our parents, community, and the larger region; our artist's classroom instructions for sketching; our art business groups. Students and staff can now draw and sketch much better, and enjoy art more. They shared and appreciated the fun and humor that this project inspired. We received good newspaper coverage and positive community feedback.

This project was a worthwhile "risk." All grants involve time and energy, with no assurance of success. In fact, we were the only school to receive a grant from the Oregon Arts Commission. I also learned how to work with artists in a great partnership. I was reminded again how much time and energy special projects entail, but that their rewards are of equal or more value.

Tim Comfort is Principal of Sisters Elementary School.

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