Testimonials

Meet the Masters is proud to work with students across the United States and Canada. Here are some of the states that have recently purchased the MTM art curriculum: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

Meet the Masters often receives testimonials from very satisfied teachers, parents and schools.  We always enjoy getting your feedback.  Here are a few recent comments:

Public / Private Schools

Working as a volunteer with the Meet the Masters program at my son’s school this past year has been such a great experience. I believe art programs help children build confidence and instill a sense of wonder and curiosity that helps foster creativity. Meet the Masters is so wonderful because it gives young children a taste of art fundamentals while teaching them about the many styles and techniques of artists from around the world and from different time periods. There is nothing more rewarding then seeing each child in my son’s first grade class create their own unique masterpiece.

Kim Aish
Harbour View Elementary School
Huntington Beach

Everyone just loves MTM. The PTA hopes to continue to fund this program. I have never heard a negative word about it. I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but this is almost the only art exposure our kids are getting these days, so it means the world to all of us.

Norma Edwards
Parent Coordinator of MTM
Madison Elementary

As I begin to plan for our 5th year (2012-2013) here at Providence Hall, I wanted to express my thanks to you for being such a great support to me this year. I am also happy to say that we have had an incredibly successful art program for our first 4 years and with Meet the Masters, we plan on that continuing. As the sole instructor for this program in my school, I have the privilege of watching the entire process unfold for our students. It is quite rewarding to take part in such an important (and unfortunately for many, forgotten) subject. I am a firm believer that art is one of the few things that can unite people of all cultures and diversities. Art is essential in educating children to the world around them and Meet the Masters is a great avenue for making that happen.I have received so many emails from parents expressing their appreciation for the high quality art program; the instruction, the art history and art skills taught to their children. We are a certified International Baccalaureate elementary school, which is rare. Meet the Masters is an exceptional program that supports our high standard of education.

Thank you again for all you have done,
Jill VanDongen, Art Director
Providence Hall Elementary
Herriman, Utah

I am always amazed when I see a child who does not think they are an artist, create a piece of art that puts a smile on their face. It is so important to help all the students explore their creative sides. Thinking creatively will help our children in their future careers, to problem solve and be innovative, no matter what that career may be. Meet the Masters is a wonderful program that exposes the children to so many amazing mediums and artistic styles. The step by step instruction creates a comfortable environment for all children to excel and explore their creative side.

Patty Robert
Art Advocate Del Lago Elementary
Orange County, CA

Meet the Masters continues to entertain, educate and keep my kids interested in the Art Masters. We have been working with MTM for many years now and I always recommend to other teachers who want to get the most out of their art program.

Valerie Johnson
Third Grade Teacher
Placentia Unified School District

Thank you so much for all your support while providing our school with your program. I am very happy it worked out for us to have Meet the Masters again. Thanks again for a great program and for being a dependable and honest program manager/owner!

Janet Smith
Parent Coodinator
CUSD

On a personal note, THANK YOU for the amazing program you have put together for kids to gain art appreciation and become little art masters themselves. I am a HUGE art lover and to see my daughters and my students enthralled by the masters of our time is a joyous sight! They are having a ball and it is taking our instructional program to a new richness and depth. Thank you again!

Malena P.
First Grade Dual Immersion Teacher
Norton Space & Aeronautics Academy

Teachers were able to implement the clearly written Meet the Masters lesson plan with ease. Our second graders were actively engaged during the Picasso lesson. They created their own abstract art and were proud to share their masterpieces with their families during Open House last year. Overall, we were impressed with material and the students enjoyed learning about Picasso. We will be doing the art project again this year to share at Open House.

Second Grade Teachers
Village Elementary
Coronado, California

Meet the Masters is a wonderful art education and enrichment program for elementary school children. My students have benefited from the superb instruction of our MTM onsite teacher (Mrs. Warner) for several reasons. First, she gives a grade level assembly about the artist in focus. She tells students about the artist’s life. She shows slides of the artist’s work and introduces key vocabulary to describe the artist’s particular style. When the children step into the art room to work on their art project based on the artist’s style, they have important background knowledge. I hear my students talking amongst themselves about cool colors, warm colors, pointillism, brush strokes, creating layers and why their piece may be abstract or impressionist work. They are proud to have their work displayed in class afterward. Finally, as a result of the Meet the Masters program, students go about their day with a broader view of looking at their world. Sometimes they see pictures from a story they read and it reminds them of a certain artist’s style they have learned about. Meet the Masters art program enriches students lives in many ways. I highly recommend this program to other schools or educational institutes.

Leigh Gracey, 2nd Grade Teacher
Temecula Luiseno Elementary School

The [Meet the Masters] program is excellent and meets all of the National Visual Arts Standards.

Susan Denvir
JFK Center For the Performing Arts, DC

Hi MTM, I received an e-mail from the volunteer that usually teaches my daughter’s class and she asked if I could teach Renoir this time around. I just did the sample project with my son tonight and I have to tell you that this is my favorite project! My son was amazed at how the reflection of the trees showed up after painting the water. What a great project and I am so happy to be teaching this lesson! I just had to share that with you.

Lori, Parent Volunteer

My name is Michelle J. and I am a parent of a first grader at Vista Del Mar and chair of this program for the 2010-2011 school year for our k-5th graders. Little did I know when I signed up for this job that it was the “favorite” program of our teachers and students! Somehow Bonnie Steele (MTM founder) has managed to bring together top notch art educators who tell a story about the artists in the form of an assembly and then sends in teachers to instruct the students in the classroom. The students come home with some incredible art pieces that they will most likely keep forever. Best of all they make it so fun and interesting that the students remember details about the artists’ life, and their masterpieces. My daughter would come home from kindergarten and tell me about Matisse or Rembrandt and she still recognises paintings when she sees them. Bonnie has made “Art into Science” by they way she has organized her materials. Anyone can learn very quickly how to coordinate the cutting, sorting organizing and delivering of the art supplies and projects to the classroom. The end result is fantastic and the lifelong impressions are invaluable! This is one program our PTA insists upon and I can tell you from first hand experience the parents are very impressed too!!!

Thank you Bonnie for developing a fantastic program for our “young impressionables” I sure wish I had a program like this when I was impressionable! Its never too late for me to learn however, so I take the opportunity to show up to an assembly and to also volunteer in my kids classroom when she has her Meet The Masters Day.

If you decide to sign up and need any help or advice please don’t hesitate to contact me. I have lots of good tips!

Sincerely,
Michelle J.
Vista Del Mar Parent
San Clemente, CA

I love your program and how it keeps the arts alive in our schools.

Sincerely,

Rosalee Sparks
Placentia, CA Parent Volunteer

After we taught the Frederick Remington lesson, a family with 4 kids at our school were at a restaurant in Park City, Utah. The children saw a painting on the wall and said it looked like a Remington. When they checked the signature, they were right! After we taught the Vincent van Gogh lesson, a kindergarten student was at his aunt’s house. He was studying her calendar on the wall and announced that the picture was by van Gogh. Of course he was right. But more interesting is that it was a picture that we did not look at during our assembly. He picked out the style and technique as a van Gogh!

I have been teaching assemblies and some classroom lessons for 4 years at our school now. The children always say hello to me with a big smile on their faces where ever we meet. They are happy to see me because they LOVE our art program.

One spring, we had a special literacy and art evening at our school. The children displayed books they had written and illustrated during the year, and we had them select their favorite Meet the Masters art project from the 5 artists we had studied so far. We matted, labeled and hung over 900 pieces of artwork all over the walls of the gym. The effect was astounding and very emotional. The children were so proud of their work. It was a magnificent night!

Lisa Fowler
MTM Committee Chair
Willow Springs Elementary
Draper, UT

It’s an opportunity to include a number of other lessons… I’ve never seen a program that provides this integration, and goes beyond the silly, little holiday crafts.”

Karen Romito
Lakewood Asst. Principal

It has been a while since we have talked.  I wanted to tell you how wonderful the program is going here at our school.  The children are very engaged and enthusiastic at the start of every artist.  We are continually learning and developing new art skills.  The knowledge that the children are obtaining about different time periods and different styles of art is amazing.  The program is super easy to follow and the cost of materials for the projects has been minimal, which is great for a school on a tight budget.  I just wanted to say thank you for offering such a educational, user friendly, and economically sound program to the schools of this nation.

Thank You!
Paciencia Polk
Imagine Schools Tempe, AZ
paciencia.polk@imagineschools.com

As long as students, teachers, schools, and our communities are convinced that achievement is best illustrated as color and numbers on a chart or graph, as long as we are satisfied that education without the arts is education enough, we will continue to be left behind–left behind and left out of a world where thinking outside the bubble is not only a valued and sought-after trait but one necessary to our very survival.

Kim Labinger
California Teacher of the Year, 2005

This program is a great way for schools to include parent volunteers.J. R. Smith School in Heber, Utah won a statewide award for The Most Innovative Use Of Volunteers.

Janet McQuarre
Cultural Arts Chairman

“This really brings students out,” Beard said. “Some of the students who are so quiet really come alive when they become involved in these projects.”

Sandra Beard
Art Teacher

Parents tell me all the time, “It’s amazing my kids recognize this art when they see it in places.”

This also gives them a chance to touch professional-quality art supplies, too, and just get a taste of what’s out there at a young age!

Elizabeth Harrigan
Parent, Volunteer

On behalf of all the teachers and students of dePortola Elementary School, I’d like to commend you for providing an outstanding first year of Meet the Masters for our school. The quality of your program is excellent. The teachers felt their students truly learned to recognize the works and styles of the great masters that they were introduced to. We appreciated the variety of classroom art projects presented.

Dawn Gonzalez, our lecturer, was well liked by teachers and students. She is professional and responsive to each age group of students. I also found her to be excellent as our coordinator and workshop presenter. We felt very fortunate that she was with us.

Our principal, Bonnie Chadd, has also been enthusiastic and supportive of the Meet the Masters program. We both will always be pleased to recommend your program to other elementary schools.

Suzanne Helmstetter
Teacher, dePortola Elementary School

The children’s favorites were the truly creative explorations in the artists’ techniques, which, while implementing a particular style, allow a great measure of freedom in how one may use the method and media toward individual expression.

Shay Seaborne
VHEA

My 10-year-old daughter surprised me when she recognized a Picasso. “This was his blue period”, she said. “How did you know that”, I asked. Her reply was, “I learned about Picasso at Meet The Masters”. I’m thrilled our school supports this program!

Janet W.
Parent, Mission Viejo, CA

We have been enjoying Meet the Masters at Friends Christian School for about 7 years. I am so impressed with the program. It has taught the children not only facts about a particular artist but also a love of art. Many of the students who are not excelling academically find a talent or expression in art that they may not find anywhere else. This builds their self-confidence. I have seen this time and time again. Our MTM teacher has been such an inspiration to our students with her passion and enthusiasm. The way she leads the assembly with slides, hands-on objects, facts, and background of the artist has the kids so intently listening it is amazing. The children are able to recall facts about the artist long after the project, because it is taught in such an interesting and exciting way. Being someone who loves art and creativity I wanted to thank you for this program for our school and thank you for sending a teacher who loves what she does. We are truly blessed.

Kayla Jernigan
Friends Christian School
Yorba Linda, CA

I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but this is almost the only art exposure our kids are getting these days, so it means the world to all of us.

Teacher, Madison Elementary

MTM is a valuable experience and loved by all!

Aliso Viejo Christian School Teacher