Tags
creativity, edtech, illustrator, innovation, librarieschangelives, LibrariesTransform, procreate, public school children, school libraries, schoollibraries, WongsWonders
This past May has been very extraordinary and special. One of Gorton’s seniors, Justin, has an uncanny talent for drawing. Not only is he a whiz with paper and pencil, but he can do amazing shading utilizing different colored markers. I was impressed with his action characters and anime illustrations. A few months ago, I approached him about illustrating a story I had written. The story had been sitting around for the longest. I was trying to figure out how I was going to illustrate it. And lo and behold, I met Justin.
Initially, Justin told me he had no time and would not be able to assist. He takes great pride in doing well in school and also plays afterschool sports. Applying for colleges was taking up his little free time as well. When I told Justin why this book was important to me, he truly made it his mission to help. I told him growing up, I did not have any storybooks with Asian characters and in school I never heard of contributions Chinese people made in U.S. history. It wasn’t till I became an adult that I read my first book detailing the contributions to the United States from an Asian American. That book was called Paper Son, The Inspiring True Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant Artist.
Justin worked for three months and for a total of almost 300 hours. He first sketched his ideas after reading the story. Then he spent countless hours adding details, color and shading. Every bit the perfectionist, Justin did not allow me to rush him, but instead worked at his own pace so that he could produce a product that everyone would be enthralled with.
When I asked Justin how he stayed focused and what motivated him, he said he wanted to do something no student in our district had done before. More importantly, he wanted to make his mother proud of him. However, he did much more than that. Justin made the whole district proud of him. He stayed focused, followed through and was persistent in accomplishing the tasks he set out to do. Not many adults or children demonstrate the consistency that Justin has. I am so thrilled to have met and worked with such an incredible young man.
Kudos, Justin! I cannot wait to see who you become in the next ten years!