Board recognizes year‑round Art Lit volunteers who bring visual arts into district classrooms

The board recognized Art Lit volunteers who provide art history and hands‑on visual arts experiences in Tigard‑Tualatin elementary classrooms.

Lisa Burton introduced Anne Johnson and volunteers Kat Buchanan and Tanisha King, who described a year of projects that included palette‑knife painting workshops with local artist Joaquin McMillan, collage projects inspired by Gee’s Bend quilts, studies of Pacific Northwest and African American artists, chalk pastel techniques and fused‑glass projects using a school kiln. Presenters said volunteers worked with teachers to adapt delivery to each school—some use “takeover” days in gyms or cafeterias while others visit classrooms—and highlighted student work in slideshow images.

Johnson showed a new Art Lit logo developed with community input; she said earlier feedback called the old logo “creepy” and asked for more color and references to art materials. Volunteers and board members praised the program’s evolution and inclusivity: vice chair Jaime and board members highlighted expanded artist representation and the role parent‑teacher organizations (PSOs) and the district foundation play in supplying materials.

Student representatives and board members offered personal recollections of formative Art Lit projects and congratulated volunteers for sustaining the program across many years. No board action was required; the board presented small thank‑you gifts and encouraged continued volunteer recruitment and partnerships with the foundation and local artists.