Superintendent’s Artist of the Week: Natalia Vasquez

Distance Learning Academy first grader Natalia Vasquez likes sketching with a pencil so much that she wrote a poem about drawing for her class’s poetry unit.

When I draw,
I let my imagination go in many places.
I feel calm when I draw.
I feel like I am one with my pencil,
And my pencil is me.

“Natalia’s work has exceeded all my expectations, both in originality and in the way she has portrayed a topic,” said her teacher Donna Berghahn. “She has really blossomed as an artist this year.”

Natalia’s poem, and poems by the rest of the class, are going to be published in a book. There’s a competition to find a drawing for the book’s cover. Natalia submitted a drawing of Mrs. Berghahn standing on the deck of a pirate ship with a patch over one eye and holding a poetry book.

Natalia chose that setting because Ms. Berghahn starts and ends the school year dressed as a pirate. She also refers to her class as the Pirates of 153 (her room at Park Avenue Elementary School).

Natalia has been busy filling up sketchbooks her mom bought her with her pencil drawings. Some are for school but many she does on her own. Sometimes Natalia follows the instructions on the Art for Kids Hub channel on YouTube.

“I saw so many good drawings that she had done, so I said l let me get you a sketchbook before you lose most of your art,” Mrs. Vasquez said. “I got her a couple of sketchbooks so she could keep track, because she has so many pictures.”

Natalia enjoys drawing pictures of people. Sometimes she gives those people the pictures as presents. Her other subjects include Batman, Bart Simpson and Baby Yoda.

“Natalia has advanced drawing skills and takes a lot of pride in her artwork,” said art teacher Leah Mednick. “She is always the first to turn in the DLA art assignments! I look forward to seeing her artwork each week.”

Recently Natalia made a beautiful collage of two versions of the earth, one happy and one sad, for Earth Day. Mrs. Berghahn said it was wonderful that the class could all see Natalia’s message through her art.

Natalia’s favorite subjects in school are art math and reading. Outside of school, she wants to try ballet and soccer, and possibly take art lessons.